I spend a lot of time tasting wine – and, if you’re reading this, chances are you do, too. But how often do we pause to think about how we taste – and what we’re really tasting? Not often enough, undoubtedly. A new book from Académie du Vin Library, Gus Zhu MW’s Behind the Glass: The Chemical & Sensorial Terroir of Wine Tasting, has forced me to think in just such a way.
There are plenty of books giving tips on how to master the art of tasting, but few delve into the complex chemistry behind it. Zhu’s compact book is a practical guide to the science of tasting wine – guiding you through the elements that affect a wine’s colour, taste and smell, and our perception of these characteristics. It’s accessible, with little knowledge of wine or chemistry assumed (helpful to those more arts-inclined, like myself), and there are some interesting nuggets buried in every chapter. Zhu is clearly a talented researcher – but arguably more used to writing papers than books, limiting Behind the Glass’s readability.
All in the mind
Another scientist, Dr Jamie Goode – who’s quoted on the jacket of Zhu’s book – published I Taste Red: The Science of Tasting Wine. While there’s some limited overlap between the two books, Goode’s focus is more on the neuroscience and psychology of tasting – on how our brain processes wine. Like Zhu’s offering, you won’t find this rather dense work gripping, but there are some fascinating avenues of research and thought explored, and it’s guaranteed to leave you questioning what your brain tells you you’re tasting.
Led by the nose
If you’re looking for one book to lead you into the world of chemistry and taste, Harold McGee’s Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells is the one to invest in. From the author behind On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen (Scribner, 2004), this is a joyous handbook to the ‘osmocosm’ – the universe of smells – and one that will leave you chasing the scent of the stars. At about 600 pages, it’s one to dip in and out of – but McGee’s writing is intelligent, elegant and evocative, allowing you to inhale as much or as little of the chemistry involved as you like. It will, however, leave you eager to sniff your way round the world, following your nose – and maybe just pause a little bit longer over your next glass of wine.
• Behind the Glass: The Chemical & Sensorial Terroir of Wine Tasting by Gus Zhu MW – £20 Académie du Vin Library, 2024
• I Taste Red: The Science of Tasting Wine by Jamie Goode – £25 University of California Press, 2016
• Nose Dive: A Field Guide to the World’s Smells by Harold McGee – £35 John Murray Press, 2020
Escapist read
Sarah Winman’s Still Life isn’t new. It isn’t even about wine. But if you haven’t read it, leap into its vivid pages for something to beat the January blues. In this tale spun between London and Florence, you’ll find various moments where wine brings its cast together – whether it’s 1900 Château Margaux (an excellent vintage for the region, Neal Martin’s Complete Bordeaux Vintage Guide informs me), a bottle of Brunello or a darling reference to ‘a dull soirée of Muscadet’.
• Still Life by Sarah Winman – £9.99 4th Estate, 2021
