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
• Part Two: Molecular Sommellerie with François Chartier
• Part Three: Language, Perception and Expertise with Jamie Goode
• Part Four: Structure and Construction: The Heart of a Variety with Nick Jackson MW

Please work through the course at your own pace. You can download the speakers' presentations by using the 'Download PDF' tabs below the video.

Part Two Summary:

François Chartier will address the aromatic science of molecular harmonies and their role in food and wine matching. Through case studies in aging regimens and red and white grape varieties, you will learn how to gauge a wine’s aromatic DNA to create synergies that heighten the perfect food match. 

The aromatic impact of aging wine in oak and amphoras  

In this webinar, François Chartier, the creator of the aromatic science of Molecular Harmonies, will show how important aging is, how it influences the aromatic profile of a wine, and it’s role in creating an impact on the food pairing. To illustrate this, the masterclass will focus on 2 types of aging process: Oak and Amphoras. Their aromatic profiles seem to be very different, but in fact they share many molecules in common!  

Learning about how a wine is aged can be one of the keys in achieving harmony with food.  

Dissecting at a Molecular Level Mencia, Garnacha and Tempranillo.  

François Chartier, the molecular sommelier, will open new aromatic matching by dissecting grape varieties at a molecular level. In this case, 3 of the major Spanish grape varieties will be analyzed, and their aromatic profile will be used to create an aromatic synergy with food resulting in augmented, multiplied and magnified matching: 1 + 1 = 3! Learn how food brings out the best in Tempranillo, Grenache and Mencia when there's an aromatic match.  

Gewürztraminer, Malvasia, Moschofilero, Moscato... or when the aromatic DNA is more important than the sugar.  

The aromas specialist François Chartier will bring you on a trip around the most aromatic grape varieties. Those vines are famous for expressive aromatic profiles but also hard to match, usually because of the presence of residual sugars. Understand what the reason for is for the litchi and rose aromas in Gewürztraminer, and how to make perfect food pairings with these aromas. Learn how the aromatic science of molecular harmonies can bring you every time in the comfort zone of a perfect matching.   

About the Speaker

François Chartier

François Chartier has been on an aromatic quest since the late 1980s to understand the impact of aromas in our daily lives, more specifically in the world of gastronomy, wine and beverages. The Quebec native has been living in Barcelona since 2016, with his wife and partner, sommeliere Isabelle Moren.

A sommelier, cook, columnist, author, researcher, consultant, trainer and lecturer, he has had a unique and brilliant career.

His passion led him to follow his own path by bypassing some of the rules of his profession. In 2004, he created a new science: that of "Molecular Harmonies", based on the potential for aromatic synergy between foods which has redefined haute cuisine , as well as between foods, wines and different beverages. In doing so, he successfully explained and deepened the impact of aromas on the world's gastronomic heritage, as well as the harmony between food and wine and other drinks such as sake and beer.

Today, François Chartier is an advisor on the research committee for the new SONY AI: Artificial Intelligence & Gastronomy project in Tokyo, and "Master Blender" at one of the country's oldest sake breweries, Tanaka 1789; he has launched his first sake Tanaka 1789 X Chartier.