When 1 + 1 Doesn’t Equal 2

Imagine two batches of chardonnay. One is fermented in oak and then aged in oak. The other is fermented in stainless steel and then aged in oak. You might expect that the wine receiving two doses of oak (during fermentation and aging) would have the most pronounced oak flavors and strongest impression of wood tannin. But the opposite is usually true. When a wine is fermented in oak, the yeasts also interact with the wood. When the spent yeast cells (lees) are ultimately removed from the wine, a measure of the wood flavor and tannin are removed with them.

The oral somatosensory property of a wine is synonymous with its:

A. sense of creaminess

B. spiciness

C. smell

D. mouthfeel

A wine’s oral somatosensory property is to mouthfeel. Scientists have long known that while we may think we like a wine for its flavors (“like cherries,” “lemony” and so on), a key driver of our perceptions and preferences is how the wine feels.

“One day her mother said to her, ‘Come, Little Red Riding Hood, here is a piece of cake and a bottle of wine. Take them to your grandmother, she is ill and weak, and they will do her good.’ “

—“Rotkäpchen” (Little Red Riding Hood or Little Red-Cap)
Printed in Kinder-und Hausmärchen, a collection of German fairy tales first published in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm

In 1989 and 1990, two California school districts in Culver City and Empire, respectively, banned this version of the tale over concerns about the mention of alcohol in the story.

When 1 + 1 Doesn’t Equal 2

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