What Affects The Enjoyment of Wine?
Music? Location? Smell? Think about some of the best wine tasting experiences you’ve had – from sipping wine outdoors on a spring day to relaxing over a glass of Cabernet by a winter’s fire. Maybe soft music was playing in the background and the smell of a wine-braised short ribs was coming from the kitchen.
Many in the wine industry are always experimenting to find the perfect atmosphere that provides the ultimate wine tasting experience. This is the first of a 3-part report.
Part 1: Can Music Influence the Taste of Wine?
Adrian North, a university professor from Edinburgh, working with Chilean winemaker, Aurelio Montes have published a “psuedo-scientific” study which concludes that different types of music stimulate different parts of the brain to change the way we taste wine.
The Idea:
The idea for the study was triggered by winemaker Montes, who already uses music in the production process, playing monastic chants to his maturing casks of wine in his Feng Shui-optimised barrel room.
The Study:
The study consisted of 250 college students who were offered a free glass of wine in return for answering questions about its taste.They drank the wine in one of five rooms, each of which played a different style of music – or no music – and were then asked to rate the wine’s taste according to set parameters.
The Results:
When a powerful piece of music such as O Fortuna from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana was played, the Montes Alpha Cabernet Sauvignon was perceived as being 60% richer and more robust than when no music was heard.
Similarly, the Montes Alpha Chardonnay seemed 40% bolder and fresher when it was accompanied by pop.
The study recommends Blondie singing “Atomic.” I like listening to Blondie when I’m driving in the car, but Diana Krall singing “Peal Me a Grape” is so much nicer while sitting and enjoying a good Chardonnay. Below are some recommendations from the study. You decide.
MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE STUDY
Cabernet Sauvignon:
All Along The Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix), Honky Tonk Woman (Rolling Stones), Live And Let Die (Paul McCartney and Wings), Won’t Get Fooled Again (The Who)
Chardonnay:
Atomic (Blondie), Rock DJ (Robbie Williams), What’s Love Got To Do With It (Tina Turner), Spinning Around (Kylie Minogue)
Syrah:
Nessun Dorma (Puccini),
Orinoco Flow Celtic Woman, Chariots Of Fire (Vangelis), Canon (Johann Pachelbel)
Merlot:
Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay (Otis Redding), Easy (Lionel Ritchie), Over The Rainbow (Eva Cassidy), Heartbeats (Jose Gonzalez)
Tags: cabernet, chardonnay, merlot, music, syrah
