Basic instinct

Basic instinct

Though the subject of wine may appear intimidating to the beginner, the key is to trust your own palate. By Beverley Blanning MW.

There is no shortage of writing celebrating the rich diversity of wine, but relatively little attention is paid to the equal diversity of wine drinkers. Personal taste is as important in wine as it is in food, art, music or our choice of drinking companions.

 

For anyone who is starting to learn about wine, a little self-analysis can go a long way. Understanding your own likes and dislikes - and the reasons behind them - will make choosing wine a more reliably rewarding experience. And for anyone who is serving wine, an appreciation of the range of experience of others will make for a more considered choice.

Speaking as an anorak who has done all the wine exams going, the most valuable lesson I ever learned was to trust my own palate. This is not easy to do, especially at first. It can be confusing, to say the least, if you don't understand why other people adore a wine that leaves you cold, and it takes a certain amount of courage to admit that what you taste is different.

While there may be broad agreement on some wines, it's important to recognise that when we drink, we all experience something different.

The only absolutes in wine are physical, from its measurable properties: the grape varieties from which it is made, its alcohol content, acidity, level of tannins and so on. An ability to recognise these structural elements in wine can be honed with practice, something that is undeniably useful as a means of assessing a wine's balance, longevity and, yes, quality.

But just as describing the intensity and range of colours in a painting tells you nothing of its artistic merit, neither does knowing the physical properties of a wine inform you whether or not you will like its taste.

I have repeatedly forced my other half to imbibe the finest Rieslings from around the world. I know these wines are good, and can produce plenty of evidence from reputed sources to prove to him that many people share my appreciation of them. But although he endures my persistence, he basically doesn't like the taste of Riesling, and no amount of wine education or rational argument from me will convince him otherwise.

Why do some styles of wine appeal more than others? Personal preferences are determined by both physiological and environmental factors. Learned preferences and positive associations relating to taste and smell start in early childhood and heavily influence our choices later on in life.

The most evocative of our senses is highly variable from one person to the next. Of our 350 smell receptors, 75 differ between individuals. A scent that one person finds overwhelming may be barely detectable to another, or even totally imperceptible.

The aromas of bananas, pears or musk, and some of the woody and floral scents are just a few examples of aromas that are not easily detected by many people. All are common descriptors of wine.

Even aromas that are smelled to the same intensity by two people may elicit quite different reactions. The vast majority of us have powerful memories associated with certain specific smells. These can be positive or negative. For example, researchers found that the smell of cut grass was considered a far more positive aroma with adults born before 1960; younger adults were less enthusiastic about the smell, as it brought back memories of being forced to mow the lawn when they were young.

To the uninitiated, wine is filled with curious aromas that do not sound remotely palatable unless you are familiar with them. What sane individual would choose to drink a Barolo smelling of tar, a Bordeaux redolent of cigars, or a Sauvignon Blanc reeking of cat's pee?

Some of the stranger wine aromas can be appreciated by exposure to them over time, but some of us live in such heightened sensory worlds that strong aromas and flavours will never appeal. Linda Bartoshuk, an American experimental psychologist, first used the term "supertaster" to describe those of us who have an extreme response to taste stimuli.

This is a genetic phenomenon thought to be due, at least in part, to a higher concentration of tastebuds on these individuals' tongues. Around a quarter of us are supertasters and the same number have a below-average reaction to taste sensations. Supertasters are more sensitive to strong flavours and bitterness than other people. They may be fussier eaters, disliking leafy greens and strong coffee, for example.

They will probably enjoy wine with more delicate flavours and lower levels of alcohol, or they may even have difficulty enjoying the taste of alcoholic drinks at all. Taste sensitivity also varies according to gender and ethnicity: women and individuals of Asian or African ethnicity are more likely to show heightened taste sensitivity compared to other groups. The context in which we drink wine has an effect on our personal enjoyment that should not be underestimated.

The perfect wine you found on your relaxed vacation (especially if you tasted it in an idyllic setting with a charming winemaker) probably didn't taste quite as perfect when you got back home. For most of us, the memory of a great bottle is always accompanied by a fond recollection of the occasion and the friends we shared it with. Can you remember ever enjoying a wine during an argument?

Even listening to music can change our perception of how wine tastes. Researchers in Scotland found that people tended to form an impression of the wine they were drinking that was closely linked to the style of music they were listening to. If these ideas sound a little far-fetched, consider the commercial possibilities: it has already been shown that playing French accordion music in the wine aisle measurably increased sales of French wine in one supermarket.

On an even subtler level, some believe our appreciation of wine may be influenced from one day to the next according to the movement of the stars and planets. Those who believe in the effects of the Biodynamic calendar, which divides the year into root days, flower days, fruit days and leaf days, say that wine tastes better on fruit days and worse on root days.This anecdotal evidence has been sufficiently convincing for several of the UK's largest retailers to quietly change their trade tastings to fruit days.

Food is the most commonly perceived influence on our appreciation of wine, but its importance is often overstated. The question I am most commonly asked at wine tastings is, "What should I eat with this?"

My usual answer is, "Anything you like," but it could just as easily be, "It depends who you are" - and neither response is intended to be facetious. There is no "right" wine for any dish, just some combinations that work better than others. But even these combinations will only be successful if you like the wine in the first place. If you have ever tried tasting a selection of wines with a dish, you will have seen that there are always differences of opinion amongst the tasters about which is the best match.

Attempting to marry food and wine for a range of flavour combinations with any sort of consistency is very likely to end in defeat, yet it is something most of us try to do every time we buy wine in a restaurant.

No matter how carefully you have studied the menu, consider how often the chef sneaks in an unannounced ingredient or cooks the food with an unexpected emphasis on one flavour over another. Start with choosing a wine you like, though, and the chances are you'll enjoy it. Understanding your own, very personal taste is, in my view, the key to wine enjoyment.

Beverley Blanning is a Master of Wine, journalist, author, educator and wine judge, based in London, UK. Her latest book, Choosing the Right Wine, is published by Hodder Education.