Best way to drink wine? In a red room with a piano: Changing the colour and music of an environment improves taste by 15 per cent
comments
Enjoying the perfect glass of wine doesn't require you to shell out a lot of money on the most expensive bottle you can find.
Instead, the results of the world's largest multisensory wine experiment reveal that a simple change in colour and sound can affect the taste of wine by nearly 10 per cent.
Listening to supposedly 'sweet' and 'sour' music in a room with red or green lighting can significantly alter the taste of a glass of wine, according to the research.
An experiment at London's Southbank Centre (pictured) tested how drinkers enjoyed a glass of wine when lighting and music were changed. Red light and 'sweet' music was the ideal combination, increasing enjoyment of wine by as much as nine per cent
The full findings, which have been submitted to a scientific journal for publication, suggest red light and 'sweet' music is the ideal combination, increasing enjoyment by as much as nine per cent.
HOW TO ENJOY THE PERFECT GLASS OF WINE
If you prefer fruity wine, swap in a red light bulb to a side lamp to create warmer lighting tones.
If you like a fresh, zingy wine, then try green table settings or glasses instead.
Music has a profound effect on taste too.
Play sweet music with red lighting in the background, such as Trois Gymnopédies, No.2 Lent et triste to increase the intensity of your wine, or green lighting with sour music such as Superscriptio to make it taste even fresher.
If you want to recreate the experiments at home, you can listen to the tracks used in the Colour Lab experiment at http://ift.tt/1uFh7Ua
Green light and 'sour' music increased freshness and reduced intensity by 14 per cent.
'It's the same as someone moving from being ambivalent about the taste of something to really liking it,' said Professor of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University Charles Spence.
'And, with this experiment, that shift happened in seconds.'
The music choices were selected from previous studies which found certain tempos and instruments made food taste sweeter or more sour.
Sweet sounds are flowing and legato, soft and highly consonant, while sour sounds are more choppy and staccato, sharp and moderately consonant.
Sweet music used in the experiment included Trois Gymnopédies, No.2 Lent et triste by Erik Satie.
An example of a sour song meanwhile was Superscriptio by Brian Ferneyhough.
Red lighting on its own brought out the fruitier notes of the wine, and green light on its own brought out the wine's freshness.
Glass of wine at the ready? Listening to Erik Satie's Gymnopedie No. 2 above while in a room with red lighting should make wine taste sweeter and increase your enjoyment by as much as nine per cent
If you're after a more sour taste to your wine then listen to Italian flutist Roberto Fabbriciani's version of Superscriptio by Brian Ferneyhough above while in a room with green lighting
The study was undertaken by Campo Viejo, a company that makes wine in Spain's Rioja region, and Professor Spence of Oxford University. Green light (pictured) and 'sour' music increased freshness and reduced intensity by 14 per cent and significantly altered the taster's enjoyment
RED AND GREEN DINNER SETTINGS
If people can't change the paint or light in a room, the study claims a change in dinner place settings can have a similar effect.
People who prefer a fruity wine, and want to enhance its flavour, can try laying a red tablecloth or use red wine glasses.
For fresh wine, go for green table settings or green food.
Almost 3,000 people took part in the Colour Lab experiment last month.
The study was a world first and was undertaken by Campo Viejo, a company that makes wine in Spain's Rioja region, in partnership with Professor Spence who hosted it as part of the Streets of Spain festival at London's Southbank Centre.
Campo Viejo Colour Lab was a custom-built installation for participants to walk through and experience the influence of colour and sound on taste.
Carefully choreographed, each participant on entering was given a single glass of wine to taste whilst being exposed to a selection of scientifically chosen sounds and colours.
Commenting on the findings, Professor Spence said: 'We were astonished to see that colour and sound has such a profound effect on the taste of wine.
'We knew an effect was likely but the results went far beyond what we were hoping for.
'Conducting the world's largest multisensory experiment, over the four days, meant that we were able to unequivocally show, for the first time, that colour and sound together have a far greater effect on people's taste perceptions than light by itself.'
Campo Viejo Colour Lab was a custom-built installation for participants to walk through and experience the influence of colour and sound on taste. Carefully choreographed, each participant on entering was given a single glass of wine to taste while experiencing light and music
Roberto Vicente, winemaker at Campo Viejo, added: 'This really is cutting edge stuff.
'Our findings show just how vital it is for bars and restaurants to seriously consider the environments they create for customers; it could have a real impact on business.
'For wine drinkers at home it is all about injecting colour at every available opportunity.
'Red can be a bold colour choice for a room but smaller splashes of colour such as a red light bulb in a side lamp to create warmer lighting tones could have a real effect on the enjoyment of wine.
'If you typically prefer a fruity wine, and want to enhance its flavour, try laying a red tablecloth or use red wine glasses.
'If fresh, "zingy" wine is more to your taste, then go for green table settings - really give your dinner guests something to talk about at the table.
'This is a simple way to get colour into your life - and make your wine taste even better in the process.'
Put the internet to work for you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment