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Vinos. El análisis sensorial del vino (Volumen VI)

Wines. The sensory analysis of wine (Volume VI)

Volume VI of Wine Sapiens aims to rethink and deepen our knowledge of the organoleptic analysis of wine. This volume focuses on how our senses function through hearing, vision, olfaction, taste, the body’s motor system, and the complex somatosensory system, and thereby guides us on how they are used during the technical tasting of wine.

This volume is a companion to Volume V, overall totalling approximately 1,000 pages, to create the necessary content to comprehend the technical tasting of wine.

 

614 pages long

230 x 330 mm

Hard cover

ISBN: 978-84-09-43269-1

 

Units

 

Volume VI of Wine Sapiens aims to rethink and deepen our knowledge of the organoleptic analysis of wine. To do this, we examine the anatomy of the senses and the physiological functioning of perception, whilst incorporating Sapiens methodology to develop a tasting method through the visual, nasal, and oral phases, along with a concluding chapter to draw together our ideas. This is a work that focuses on the functioning of our senses through hearing, vision, olfaction, taste, the body’s motor system, and the complex somatosensory system, guiding us on how they are used during the technical tasting of wine.

 

Nine of the foremost wine tasters in the world accompany us throughout this work, just as they did in Volume V of Sapiens, Wines. The Act of Wine Tasting. Luis Gutiérrez, James Tidwell MS, Julia Harding MW and Thomas Matthews, among others, contribute through their enormous experience. This is a book detailing the anatomy and physiology of the senses, with an informative and straightforward approach. We delve into the functioning of the human body through the digestive, circulatory, neuroendocrine and nervous systems. Moreover, we focus on the values, capabilities and attitudes that every good wine taster should possess.

 

One of the most innovative sections of the book relates to the organisation of sensory perception. Although this may sound surprising, humans are considered to have more than five senses. In fact, if we take into account the polyhedral perspective of Dr Josep de Haro, one of the curators of this work, humans may have up to 16 senses. Sensory perception interacts with other cognitive processes, due to the fact that we give thought to what we drink, placing our attention on the glass, recalling flavours and expressing through language – whether technical, poetic, narrative or oenological – our perceptions of the event. All of these functions take place and interact within the brain.

 

We incorporate concepts such as cross-modality, defined as how the perception of one sense affects all the other senses. As an illustration of this concept: do you know that if you drink a soda in a red glass, it will make you feel more satiated? This is just one example of the myriad of transferred perceptions we experience.

 

As we have mentioned, the senses and their function are the focus of this work. What role does hearing play in the perception of wine? What muscles are activated to bring wine to our lips? What compounds within the wine give it its colour? What mechanisms govern the volatility of odour compounds so that they are released and reach our noses? How many tastes are we able to perceive? We suggest that there are more than 5. How are the senses of touch integrated, and the equilibrium generated within oral perception?

 

In short, we offer an innovative, scientific approach to understand the journey that starts in the sensory receptor and is carried through a nerve signal that transports sensation to the brain, reaching areas of the cortex that are activated to form perception. At the same time, we apply the Sapiens Method to develop an innovative tasting methodology. This results in a conclusion phase for the wine, in which the taster applies all his knowledge.

In this section is a short summary of each chapter of the book

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CHAPTER 1

THE WINE TASTER AS A HUMAN BEING: THE BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT

This first chapter examines the four main sets of organs involved in the wine tasting function: the nervous, digestive, circulatory and neuroendocrine systems. With regards to the nervous system, we study the neuron, the minimum functional cell unit, and explore how neural impulses are generated and transmitted within the intercellular communication system that makes it […]

CHAPTER 2

THE PERSONALITY AND PROFESSIONAL CULTURE OF THE WINE TASTER

It is clear that people behave differently in their private and professional lives. However, such aspects are two sides of the same coin. It is inevitable that our inner personality comes to the fore and is responsible for our behaviour in carrying out our professional duties. To better understand what it means to be a […]

CHAPTER 3

THE SENSES, THE COGNITIVE PROCESS OF SENSORY PERCEPTION

An understanding of the senses and how they function have been transcendental issues throughout history. Great philosophical and scientific debates have raged for centuries concerning the question of deciding how many senses we have. Even now, we haven’t found a convincing answer to this controversy. Can we at least classify them? Do we know how […]

CHAPTER 4

OTHER COGNITIVE PROCESSES OF WINE TASTING. LANGUAGE, ATTENTION, MEMORY, INTELLIGENCE AND THOUGHT

Cognitive processes refer to those by which the brain manages, regulates, integrates, generates and expedites the constantly occurring electrochemical signals passing between neurons. These tasks are not at all sequential. In fact, there is such an intertwining of processes that from the outside it can seem like a tangle. Sensory perception is a well-studied cognitive […]

CHAPTER 5

HOW HEARING WORKS. WAVES OF VIBRATION THAT REACH THE EAR

Some consider that hearing is the most undervalued sense involved in the art of wine tasting. However, once we appreciate how it works and what stimuli it receives, we realise that it plays a fundamental role in fully valuing the perception of wine (not taking into account the value of listening to an explanation of […]

CHAPTER 6

HOW THE MOTOR SYSTEM WORKS. PLACING THE WINE IN ONE’S MOUTH FOR DRINKING

Placing wine in your mouth is an action that sometimes seems irrelevant, but it is a journey full of somatosensory stimuli. It may be less noticeable than sound, but depending on the weight, shape or colour of the tasting tool, the perception of the act will be very different. Even the degree of inclination of […]

CHAPTER 7

HOW VISION WORKS. DETECTING LIGHT AND TRANSFORMING IT INTO REALITY

The visual phase is one of the most persuasive in wine, leading to inquiries such as: Why does wine have colour? What is colour anyway? Is it possible to know which compounds of wine are responsible for its colour? Once these questions have been answered, we turn our attention to much more specific questions such […]

CHAPTER 8

WINE TASTING: THE VISUAL PHASE

Once we understand the principles of hearing, the motor system and vision, we can turn our attention to the first part of the tasting phase in which they participate: the visual phase. Here, we begin to describe the wine, interpreting its depth and intensity of colour, its clarity, opacity and rim variation, even the viscosity […]

CHAPTER 9

HOW THE SENSE OF SMELL WORKS. VOLATILE COMPOUNDS THAT STIMULATE OUR OLFACTORY RECEPTORS

This chapter focuses on the volatile compounds that have odorant potential; that is, the chemical compounds that easily evaporate, changing from a liquid state to a gaseous one, imparting an aroma. All aroma compounds are volatile, but not all volatile compounds are odorants, fortunately. There are few senses that awaken more curiosity in us than […]

CHAPTER 10

WINE TASTING: THE NASAL PHASE

After the visual phase, we turn our attention to the second phase: the nasal. This is surely the most hedonistic phase because it connects to our emotions and memories with amazing ease. The chapter outlines, step by step, how the nasal phase occurs and how interpretations are made, examining, among other things, the condition of […]

CHAPTER 11

HOW TASTE WORKS. RECEPTORS THAT DETECT DISSOLVED COMPOUNDS IN SALIVA

Taste is a chemical sense, which means that, in the same way as with smell, it detects chemical compounds which are then transformed into taste perception. The difference lies in the fact that, while smell captures compounds in the gaseous state, taste works by trapping chemical compounds that are dissolved in a liquid. Three concepts […]

CHAPTER 12

HOW THE SOMATOSENSORY SYSTEM WORKS. TOUCH, PAIN, BALANCE, KINESTHESIA AND CHEMICAL RECEPTORS

In the language of wine we usually refer to touch as the sense through which texture is perceived. Unfortunately, this is a simplification far removed from scientific reality. Touch is nothing more than a set of stimuli to which others must be added. All sensory stimuli are perceived in shared sensory organs and generate sensations […]

CHAPTER 13

TASTING: THE ORAL PHASE

When wine is placed into the mouth, a huge amount of sensory information is received that must be processed and understood, which hopefully leads to an enjoyment of the wine. In doing this, it is essential to have a memorised tasting system that is both hierarchical and parameterised. Only in this way can perceptions be […]

CHAPTER 14

TASTING: CONCLUSION

This is the fourth and final phase of wine tasting. The conclusion is the pinnacle of sensory analysis. Here, unlike in the other phases, sensory perception should be considered on equal terms as the other cognitive processes introduced in Chapter 4. Only in this way can the taster go beyond a hedonistic assessment based on […]