SOUTH AFRICAN WINES & CULTURE

Here is a fun piece :Having fun playing 'winemaker' altering taste:

Eating and drinking is what we do every day but few people think about the flavours or how we taste them. We tend to think that 'smell' is detected by the nose and 'taste' in the mouth. In fact when you pinch your nose closed while chewing something there is a realisation that taste and smell are very inter-related and the sense of 'taste ' limited to

detect sweetness, acidity, saltiness, bitterness and a fifth sensation called umami. In wine the balance between sweetness and acidity is vital

 

SUGAR

The highest concentration of the taste buds detecting sweetness is around the tip of the tongue. Sugar has texture and taste but no smell. Wines are bottled with varying levels of residual sugar and we all have different preferances. Take half a glass Phant Sauvignon Blanc wine and put a teaspoon of sugar in to see how it will affect the balance and taste of the wine! Repeat as many times as you wish. Most dry wines will have less than a teaspoon (5gm) per liter of residual sugar.

 

 

ACID

The right amount of acidity enlivens a wine and gives it zing. Take a smell of something high in acid such as lemon juice or vinegar – acidity has a strong affect on the tongue. If you take some cream of tarter make a solution of it and add to a table wine that had some sweetness such as the Phant Muscat. You will clearly taste how the balance is altered. To experience a crude impression of the flavours of the different acids in wine do the following exercise and smell:

 

tartaric acid – cream of tarter in solution.

malic acid – apple juice

citric acid – lemon juice

acetic acid – vinegar

lactic acid – yogurt

carbonic acid – fizzy drinks

 

SALT

Seldom found in wine except some styles of sherry. Make a salt solution in a glass of water and swirl it around and check where the sensation is most pronounced – towards the back of the tongue and little bit on the front edges.

BITTERNESS

Put a few drops of Angostura bitters or Fernet Branca in water and swirl around the mouth – the flat back part of the tongue is particularly sensitive to that. Like saltiness bitterness is not very often found in wine but some styles of red wine could have it adding some complexity.

UMAMI

This is a delicious savoury taste associated with soy sauce, seaweed, savoury spreads, shiitake mushrooms , dried shrimps, sardines and truffles. Umami is not simply deliciousness, but a complex singular taste which cannot be called sweet, sour, bitter or salty

Your taste buds should now be well trained and ready to discover these basic tastes in wine.

Enjoy the adventure!  

 

Back