Dr. Loosen Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Kabinett, Mosel Germany 2020 (£ 15.99, Waitrose) There is a temptation to make fun of wine vendors and writers for their attempts to match wine with music. What’s the point, except to show your main taste in two areas? It’s not like finding a wine to pair with food, where even if you’re skeptical of how much of a difference it makes to your meal, you can at least accept that both elements are working in the same sensory space. Academic research in the field by Professor Charles Spence of Oxford University suggests that the music wine match is much more than a weird idea, however. According to Spencer, a wine like Loosen’s Mosel Riesling will have a more or less spicy taste, a more or less spicy flavor, and will be more or less pleasant, depending on what you’re listening to.
Kozlovic Teran, Istria, Croatia 2020 (£ 14.25, Shelved Wine) An interesting approach from Spence’s Crossmodal Research Laboratory is the consistent correspondence between some flavor elements and sounds. Most people associate bitterness with low sounds, for example, sweetness and sourness are associated with high tones. You can see why the sweet and sour Mosel riesling like Loosen is constantly paired with melodic and melodic classical music like Vivaldi. More difficult, I imagine, are wines like Kozlovic’s Teran wonderful but challenging. A very bitter but appealing red wine with ripe sour berries and tremendous acidity, in terms of music, seems to match the disagreement of Stockhausen or Einstürzende Neubauten.
Taylor’s LBV Port, Douro, Portugal 2017 (£ 10, Sainsbury’s) Research has shown that it’s not just music that has an identifiable effect on our tastes. There is a great cross between the senses, and tasting wine in the dark, or in the red light, or at different temperatures will change how we live and describe it. Spence has written about a Vietnamese cafe he calls “sweet music,” highlighting the sweetness of low-sugar cakes and pastries. But rather than this subtle application that changes behavior, I think combining music and wine is the most useful way to determine the characteristics of a wine. For me, comparing the rich, profound, and velvety richness of Taylor’s magnificent LBV Port, such as comparing Kind to Blue to Miles Davis ’gentle romantic sweep, is a better way to remember than a list of fruit adjectives.
Follow David Williams on Twitter @Daveydaibach
