TY - JOUR

T1 - Assessing the influence of music on wine perception among wine professionals

AU - Wang, Qian Janice

AU - Spence, Charles

N1 - Funding Information: CS thank the AHRC grant entitled ‘Rethinking the senses’ (AH/L007053/1) for supporting this research. We thank ICCWS for organizing the studies, and the Ontario Wine Board for sponsoring the wines used in this study. Publisher Copyright: © 2017 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

PY - 2018

Y1 - 2018

N2 - Several recent studies have demonstrated that music can significantly influence the eating/drinking experience. It is not clear, however, whether this influence would be moderated by the expertise of the taster. In the experiments reported here, we tested a large group (N = 154) of very experienced wine tasters—the majority of whom were professionals working in the wine business—at a winemaking conference. The first study assessed the impact of putatively “sweet” and “sour” soundtracks on taste evaluation, whereas the second study assessed more subtle wine-specific terminology such as length, balance, and body. The results revealed that the effect of music on wine perception can indeed be demonstrated in wine experts. Moreover, the amount of wine tasting experience, as measured in years, did not moderate the influence of music on sensory and hedonic wine evaluation. This result suggests that the aforementioned auditory modulation of drinking experience is not influenced by the increased analytical abilities afforded by traditional wine tasting expertise.

AB - Several recent studies have demonstrated that music can significantly influence the eating/drinking experience. It is not clear, however, whether this influence would be moderated by the expertise of the taster. In the experiments reported here, we tested a large group (N = 154) of very experienced wine tasters—the majority of whom were professionals working in the wine business—at a winemaking conference. The first study assessed the impact of putatively “sweet” and “sour” soundtracks on taste evaluation, whereas the second study assessed more subtle wine-specific terminology such as length, balance, and body. The results revealed that the effect of music on wine perception can indeed be demonstrated in wine experts. Moreover, the amount of wine tasting experience, as measured in years, did not moderate the influence of music on sensory and hedonic wine evaluation. This result suggests that the aforementioned auditory modulation of drinking experience is not influenced by the increased analytical abilities afforded by traditional wine tasting expertise.

KW - crossmodal correspondences

KW - music

KW - wine

KW - wine expertise

U2 - 10.1002/fsn3.554

DO - 10.1002/fsn3.554

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85036585601

VL - 6

SP - 295

EP - 301

JO - Food Science & Nutrition

JF - Food Science & Nutrition

SN - 2048-7177

IS - 2

ER -