Wine Conundrum #1

Sensory scientists have always suspected that the order in which you taste wines affects your judgment of them. In 2009, Canadian research confirmed the idea. As reported in A Journal of the Association for Psychological Science , Antonia Mantonakis, Ph.D. of Brock University in Ontario, Canada, and her colleagues hadvolunteers taste two, three, four, or five blinded wines, and select their favorite. Some volunteers were novices others wine professionals. Unbeknownst to the participants, all of the wine samples were identical. Every group of volunteers preferred wine #1 over wines #2 and #3. However, among wine experts in the study who tried four or five samples, there was also a “recency effect”—that is, wine #5 was preferred over #4 and #3. Dr. Mantonakis believes that her study suggests that connoisseurs may compare wines in such a way that each new wine has a chance to beat the current favorite (setting up the possibility of selecting the last sample). Novice wine drinkers, on the other hand, get overwhelmed with choices early on, and feel happy sticking by wine number one.

The wheat-like grain, spelt, is native to what region?

A. Southern Germany

B. The Midwest of the United States

C. Northern Mexico

D. The mountains of China

Spelt originated in Germany (and Switzerland too), according to the Northern Grain Growers Association. Spelt (aka “dinkle” in Germany), is similar in flavor and texture to wheat, and is typically milled into bread flour. Breads made from this grain are often heavier and denser in texture than breads made with wheat flour. Spelt has been grown for over 6,000 years. However, the grain went out of fashion in the early 20^th century because wheat was easier to thresh. Over the past decade, the demand for spelt has skyrocketed as consumers search for alternatives to wheat.

Rotten Egg

The term most often used to describe a wine that exhibits the fault of having excessive hydrogen sulfide.

Wine Conundrum #1

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