10/16/06 Food Smells

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran and today we are answering questions from the email. A listener wrote to thank me for doing the program about refraining from wearing a fragrance such as cologne or aftershave when attending a wine tasting or while visiting wineries at the tasting room. In addition, he asked if it might also include the smells from the food served at a wine tasting. As we have discussed many times our sense of smell is a major contributor to our ability to taste. Thus, not wearing perfume and aftershave when we are attending a wine tasting is important. When asked if the food served could interfere in the same way I would answer yes. I say this realizing that in most serious wine tasting venues only plain crackers and water are accompanying the wine. However, any smell even from cleaning solution in a glass washer or very strong cheeses will influence or distract us from being fully engaged in the wine tasting experience. It is difficult enough to focus upon smelling and tasting through several wines without any outside interference. Just remember this pertains to a situation in which our purpose is to taste wine. When you have been cooking all day in your home and it is smelling just fabulous, you of course will find a great wine to go along with that effort. The two will come together and there will be smiles all around. Now that is a case where it pays to have the smells of the food interfering with your wine smelling! Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.