SUB-ZERO WINE BLOG

Wine is the ultimate sensory pleasure. It appeals to our senses – sight smell, taste touch – even hearing if you factor in the auditory clink of glasses raised in a toast.

But beyond its sensory sensations are psychological elements that can have a profound effect on how we experience and how much (or little) we may enjoy a wine.

Issues of occasion, regionality, pedigree and price are just some of the emotional signals that add additional layers to our wine experience.

Consider New Year’s Eve. As Champagne corks fly across the globe and Champagne bubble tickle our nose, many of us focus less on the finely tuned balance and yeasty fruit flavors of the specific sparkler, but rather the emotion of celebration, luxury and indulgence. Add to the mix the occasion of the start of a New Year (maybe some caviar! and a prestige Champagne) and you have a sparkling wine where we derive pleasure beyond its taste. The idea of occasion – whether it be a wedding, a birthday, New Year’s Eve– is powerful and can affect our experience of taste.

Flash back to the last time you were in Europe – strolling through the vineyards of Tuscany or biking through the Loire Valley. Probably the wines you enjoyed were from the specific region where you traveled. Maybe Chianti or a Sancerre. The local setting magnified the winsome qualities of the wines you enjoyed.

A wine’s name and pedigree can also give us a predisposition to a feeling towards a wine. We can be enchanted by a “boutique wine” in limited production simply by the fact that there is not much of it made. Our mind and emotions drift to the artisan qualities of the wine. Serve a wine that is more commercial and prolific, the results might be quite different. Several years ago I served a mystery wine at a tasting with some of the countries top collectors. They had mixed opinions about the wine, but many thought the wine was too tannic and too austere and a majority of guests did not enjoy the selection. Then the wine was revealed to be one of the great wines of Italy -- An historic wine with high pedigree and price. Guests quickly stuck their noses back in the glass and reassessed their opinion. Soon after they proclaimed the wine to be stunning and extraordinary! Did the wine change dramatically from their first evaluation or did the taster’s impression change merely with knowing the wines identity?

I have a close friend who is unfortunately a bit of a wine snob. A wine lover, but a wine snob nonetheless. He sips and savors only the best vintages and the most costly wines from around the world. For years he has singled out one wine style that he dislikes immensely – Beaujolais. Last year I look him to dinner and preordered a wine that was served to him blind -- in a decanter. He gushed over the wine, not only on its own but also with food. Was it the decanter? Was it the fact that he was able to truly taste the wine without the baggage of knowing that is was Beaujolais? I think I will never know but this much is certain: Wine does not live in a vacuum and it is sampled and savored in the context of our life experiences.