Tuesday, June 16, 2009

California – Here we are! Wine and music.

This is the first of a series of posts regarding our latest trip to California.  They will include  judging, visiting wineries, and any other great information I want to pass on.
The day prior to judging the California State Wine Competition, there is always some manner of educational program for the judges.  This always takes place the evening before the judging begins.  This year, it was a rather unusual program regarding the influence of music on wine consumption.

The program was presented by Clark Smith, a well know person in the wine community with a reputation for being out of the ordinary.  While we know that music is part of the influence in the enjoyment of wine, he takes it a lot further.
The presentation included tasting a flight of wine with no music and then tasting them again while listening to different types of music.  The premise was that, with certain types of music, the wine tasted either smoother, more astringent, or not even good at all.  It was an interesting study.

This, of course, is a very new study and somewhat controversial.  Many of us were skeptical.  In some ways it seemed like subliminal thoughts were being put into our minds because, instead of having us experience it and giving our opinions, we were told what was going to happen during the music sessions.  It did seem that there was, indeed, a difference in the wine perceptions.  But was it real, or was it suggestion?  You can try it for yourself and see.  The information is on his website, but you have to provide the wine.

You can check this out at http://www.grapecraft.com/grapecraft/page/music.jsp, where there is a much better explanation of this study.  Enjoy!

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