French scientists have discovered our new favorite trick to making cheap wine taste pricier, The Telegraph reports. Just add cheese.
According to the study, snacking on cheese before sipping wine improves the flavors and aroma of both reds and whites. The fats contained in Gruyère, Gorgonzola, and the like counterbalance wine's mouth-drying tannins. Those chemical compounds, which are contained in grape stems, skins, and seeds, give dry wines, like Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc, their signature astringency, or moisture-sapping sensation.
Conducted at the Centre for Taste and Feeding Behavior in Dijon, France, the researchers asked 31 French wine experts to first taste and rate four red and white varietals. Then, they served the study participants a sampling of hard and soft cheeses made from cow, sheep, and goat's milk and asked them to try the cheeses while tasting and grading the wines a second time.
“Thanks to our research, we learned the duration of the perception of astringency of a certain wine could be reduced after having cheese and the four evaluated cheeses had the same effect,” lead researcher Mara Galmarini told The Telegraph. “In short, when having a plate of assorted cheeses, the wine will probably taste better, no matter which one they choose.”
However, the researchers noted in the abstract that they didn't control for individual wine preference and that the study sample population was small. So perhaps, we should try to replicate the findings as soon as possible. In the name of science, of course.
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