Sommeliers’ brains seem to fascinate scientists. Every few years, a new study pops up where somms are subjected to MRI scans whilst they blind taste and pontificate.

The Science of Wine Tasting Course This multi-part series is designed for food and wine professionals, wine judges, wine educators, wine and food journalists, wine students and anyone who relies on their senses to assess, evaluate, critique and/or write about wine and food.  There are four parts to this series, each with three sessions. Part One: Neuroscience of Wine Tasting with Gabriel Lepousez

Summary:  Your brain —and all its sensory extensions in our eyes, nose and mouth— is your essential “tool” to perceive, remember and judge all the sensory components of wine. But do you really know how your wine-tasting “tool” works? Current advances in neuroscience are profoundly modifying our knowledge of the sensory and cognitive mechanisms of wine tasting and invite us to revisit the art of tasting. Bridging the gap between oenology, psychology and neurophysiology,

Summary:  Wine tasting is an unique perceptual experience which endeavors to unify the numerous molecules present in the wine (and the elements around the wine) into a meaningful representation in our mind. Wine tasting often focuses on the object of the experience, that is