26 Chapter 2 Taste Basics and the Basics of Wine Evaluation
becoming a supporting partner. As with flavor intensity, a match of flavor persistency is
important for the wine and food pairing process, but flavor persistency is also a primary
indicator of wine quality. This is often called the length or finish of a wine. Basically, you
are receiving a bigger bang for your buck when a good wine leaves a pleasant lingering flavor
in your mouth. The assessment of flavor persistency is determined by the number of seconds
that the pleasant taste and aroma lasts. Usually, this persistence will last somewhere between
three and fifteen seconds.^8
Other indicators of quality include a balanced flavor and texture, complexity level, and
clean taste with no obvious faults.^9Psychological and Physiological Factors A number of psychological
factors can influence the perception of wine quality and taste characteristics: the taster’s
personality, external elements, and biases based on preconceived notions of a particular wine-
maker, type of wine, or region.
The methods used in sensory analysis are strictly controlled to maintain proper tem-
perature, lighting, and minimize off odors. Techniques such as colored glassware and red
lights can be used to eliminate psychological preferences for specific colors in wines and
other food items. Visible textures in food and wine influence our perception of taste and
flavor—for example, ice cream prepared in the same batch but presented both frozen and
thawed will create differing perceptions of taste and flavor prior to actual tasting. Similarly,
because tears in wine are perceived by many as a sign of quality, this visual indicator of
texture may give tasters a preconceived notion of quality in the wine sample.The Italian wine and food
evaluation room at the Italian
Culinary Institute for Foreign
Professionals, Costigliole
d’Asti, Italy (courtesy of the
Italian Culinary Institute for
Foreigners).
Marketing of wine—including bottle, cork
(or other closure), and label—is a way of signaling
to the customer that the product provides a certain
level of value and meets a range of possible cus-
tomer needs. These human needs are very complex
and can range from social needs for fun and be-
longing, or esteem needs for prestige, to name a
few. All of these psychological ‘‘hot buttons’’ can be
pushed when tasting wine and viewing the wine
bottle, label, and closure type. As astute observers,
we need to minimize these effects by being aware
of potential bias and neutralizing it as much as pos-
sible. This can be done by blind-tasting wines for
quality and minimizing any discussion about the
wines until everyone is finished evaluating them.
When all else fails, concentration and aware-
ness of potential biases are key elements to mini-
mize potential psychological issues. While you taste
wine, you should do your best to ignore what is going on around you, the label, and the
bottle. Instead, you should concentrate on creating a clear impression of the wine based on
the developing sensations conveyed in the wine. It may be helpful to close your eyes and
focus by using your nose, tongue, and palate to ‘‘see’’ the attributes contained in the wine.
These attributes can easily be clouded by comments from ‘‘experts’’ surrounding you, the
appearance of the wine bottle, or the closure used (that is, a screw cap as compared to a
natural cork). A properly organized tasting session does everything possible to minimize the
impact of these psychological factors.
There are a number of physiological pitfalls inherent in the tasting or sensory process.
The first is the impact of adaptation. As discussed previously, our senses adapt to filter out
continuous stimuli so that we can focus on what is changing in the environment. The same
thing happens with taste, where the adaptation process is often called palate fatigue, and it
is an important consideration when planning food or wine sensory exercises. Because of this,
most experts suggest that no more than six to eight wines be evaluated in one session unless
the tasting panel is highly skilled in sensory techniques.