WMC19 Lightning Talk: Steve Noel | Children of the Grape | Tasting Terroir

This is the opportunity to hear from your fellow attendees. We will have eight speakers, each of whom will have five minutes to present on a subject that is near to his or her heart. The catch is each speaker has to use 20 slides that are set to auto-rotate every 15 seconds, which keeps the talks fast and fun.

Transcript

2. Wine Tasting Terroir Steve Noel Children of the Grape
3. Taste - a definition Definition of taste as a noun The objective sweet, sour, bitter, salty, or umami quality of a dissolved substance as perceived by the sense of taste Definition of taste as a transitive verb To become acquainted with by experience “has tasted the frustration of defeat”
4. Terroir - a definition Terroir – “The combination of factors including soil, climate, and sunlight that gives wine grapes their distinctive character”. - Merriam - Webster
5. Electronic Tongues Xavier Ceto and colleagues at the University of South Australia made An electronic tongue. The device measures the electrochemical signals of sugars, phenolics and other compounds present in wine.
6. Taste is more than a Tongue “The human senses – smell, taste, touch, sound, and sight – all work together in a very complex way to deliver messages to our brain about the qualities of food and beverages we consume, Emotion, psychology, past memories and experiences all influence these perceptions and contribute to our perception of flavor – no instrument can possibly replace that.” - Heather Smyth flavour chemist and sensory scientist at the University of Queensland, Australia
7. 7 External Factors of Taste In an article written by Amber Williams for Popular Science in 2014 titled 7 Factors That Change Your Sense Of Taste , 7 external factors were identified that are known to affect taste. Language, utensils, temperature, color, environment, expectations, and memory.
8. Language …Beautifully balanced with a lovely bouquet of exotic tropical fruit, delicate flavors of orange blossom, dried apricot and honey are complemented with a bright refreshing finish. - https://californiawineryadvisor.com/best-of- class-wine-descriptions/ …Straw yellow colour, reminds of bottles peed in when too lazy to leave the couch. Wafts of apples, pears and armpits on the subway, this one surely won’t disappoint. Break the seal tonight to help you forget you have to repeat the same day tomorrow or save it for next year after you’ve realized anyone can do your job. Good with pork or pancakes, this stunner is ripe for self-medicating any time of day…. - https://sillyside.wordpress.com/2013/04/07/five- funny-wine-tasting-notes/
9. Utensils
10. Temperature
11. Color https://winefolly.com/update/rainbow-wine-is-green-wine-really-wine/
12. Environment
13. Expectations
14. Memory
15. A trick to make any wine taste better Molecular chef Heston Blumenthal reveals that he has a trick to make any wine taste better. Chef Blumenthal states the way to make any wine taste better is to picture someone you love dearly while sipping your wine. He goes on to say that you can confirm this by retasting the wine while thinking of someone you actively dislike.
16. These don’t just affect casual wine drinkers. There is a study by Qian (Janice) Wang and Charles Spence titled “Assessing the influence of music on wine perception among wine professionals”. There were 2 studies done. The first showed wine professionals rated the wines as sweeter while listening to the sweet soundtrack compared to the sour soundtrack. The second study showed that the soundtracks influenced wine evaluation significantly in terms of body, balance, length, and wine liking.
17. In Summary We have discovered: Taste is both what you perceive in your mouth and your experiences. Supported by: As Heather Smyth said, Emotion, psychology, past memories and experiences all influence these perceptions and contribute to our perception of flavor …
18. In Summary Terroir is a combination of factors… In this case a combination of items that can effect your taste.
19. These Items Include: We heard from Amber Williams on the 7 Factors That Change Your Sense Of Taste. • Language • Utensils • Temperature • Color • Environment • Expectations • Memory
20. In Addition We learned that these effects don’t just affect casual wine drinkers, that wine professionals are also influenced.
21. Finally I believe I have shown there is a Tasting Terroir. And to that end… If you must drink less than stellar wine… Drink it out of your best glassware, While maintaining a positive attitude, In a beautiful place, With people you love…