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In vino veritas? The science behind your taste in wine

The same white wine can seem fine to one person and too acidic to another. Why?

By Barry Smith  
October 9, 2017
November 2017

Why does wine taste different depending on who's drinking it?

Do we live in different taste worlds? You find a white wine unbearably acidic and I find it balanced. The reason may be that you are a so-called “supertaster,” which means that you have more papillae on the tongue than other people. You react more quickly, and negatively, to acidity, bitterness and astringency, all qualities we find in wines. Our reactions can make us wonder whether we have, not just different preferences, but different perceptions of tastes.

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Barry Smith

Barry Smith is director of the Institute of Philosophy, and editor of “Questions of Taste: The Philosophy of Wine” (OUP)

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