Circumstances influence your experience of food and wine
Deciding whether a food or wine tastes good depends on much more than the meal or drink itself. It has been demonstrated that what you consume can indeed taste better or worse depending on the circumstantial boost you receive at that particular moment.
Your perception of food depends on the setting
What we do not get asked very often is to name the best thing that has ever graced our palates. In comparison to citing your go-to favourite dish, this exercise is a little harder on your brain. But if you pay attention to the process of coming up with this particular answer, you will be surprised by the neurotic walk down memory lane that is likely to be involved. Your mind will not come up with just the name of a dish, but rather dig up a whole experience.
First, you might start thinking about all of the fanciest restaurants at which you have had dinner. Then, maybe your childhood memories will kick in. And what about all of this beautiful vacation food that you have tasted over the years? Isn’t there something from your experiences abroad that might have been better than the best cupcake you have ever had on some nice coffee date? The wandering could be endless. And that, simply because the answer to “What is the best food that you’ve ever had?” is indeed deeply connected to how you felt when you had the food in question.
On one particular night, Michael Austin — a chieftain.com contributor — recalls being in the company of accomplished chefs while dining at an upscale restaurant. In the middle of the conversation, he got asked about the best thing that he had ever tasted, and he surprised himself by citing a dish that the fancy cuisine of the evening would have nothing to envy from. In fact, as for pretty much everyone attending that night, the ultimate answer to the question was that even molecular gastronomy cannot always rival with the dearest memories of simple pleasures.
Perceiving wine is similar to how you perceive food
Just as food-related experiences can be highly connected to pleasant situations, the outcome of wine tasting can also depend on the circumstance of the latter’s consumption. Sure, there is an objective factor when it comes to evaluating how good a drink is, but you will surely agree that siping a glass of wine is an experience rather than just a raw taste test. Enjoying the aromas, the flavours, and texture of wine in a perfect setting and state of mind can surely make the taste of your drink better than it would have been in another context.
When somebody comments on how good their wine is, they probably also mean — even though subconsciously — that they are having a good time as well. Of course, bad wine will remain bad wine, but it is undeniable that our perception of things can be more holistic than we allow ourselves to think. Differently put, your wine could possibly taste like your good day at work, your beautiful vacation night out under the stars, or your nice rendezvous with a hot date.
h/t: Chieftrain
Also available on Zyne.ca
