A matter of taste

February 7th, 2012 | Tasting

Quite obviously tasting is a subject very close to my heart, indeed it was my profession for many years before I arrived in Spain. A month or two ago I wrote about how the sense of smell has a huge influence on what we are able to taste (I can attest to this as I tried in vain to taste a wine yesterday, whilst still recovering from yet another winter cold).

Having said that, it’s not only smell that can influence what we taste – there are many other factors, such as colour for example. This might seem ridiculous, but tests have proved that some consumers can have difficulty in distinguishing between red and white wine whilst blindfolded. How often have we heard that we ‘eat with our eyes’, so surely the same must apply to wine. A glass of white wine that has a golden brown colour could be either extremely sweet or extremely oxidised!

I know that I have probably mentioned before, but location and atmosphere can also make a difference. For example, I can guarantee that the cool, refreshing glass of Provence Rosé that you sip on the beach in St Tropez, whilst tucking into your Niçoise Salad, may well not taste the same on a grey, cold, rainy Tuesday in London…..

When buying wines for my previous company I therefore always used to make sure that I tasted all potential purchases on cold, wet Tuesdays in London!

Quite obviously tasting is a subject very close to my heart, indeed it was my profession for many years before I arrived in Spain. A month or two ago I wrote about how the sense of smell has a huge influence on what we are able to taste (I can attest to this as I tried in vain to taste a wine yesterday, whilst still recovering from yet another winter cold).

Having said that, it’s not only smell that can influence what we taste – there are many other factors, such as colour for example. This might seem ridiculous, but tests have proved that some consumers can have difficulty in distinguishing between red and white wine whilst blindfolded. How often have we heard that we ‘eat with our eyes’, so surely the same must apply to wine. A glass of white wine that has a golden brown colour could be either extremely sweet or extremely oxidised!

I know that I have probably mentioned before, but location and atmosphere can also make a difference. For example, I can guarantee that the cool, refreshing glass of Provence Rosé that you sip on the beach in St Tropez, whilst tucking into your Niçoise Salad, may well not taste the same on a grey, cold, rainy Tuesday in London…..

When buying wines for my previous company I therefore always used to make sure that I tasted all potential purchases on cold, wet Tuesdays in London!

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