KMW

Acronym for Klosterneuburger Mostwage. In Austria, the KMW scale is used to measure sugar in grapes and, hence, their ripeness. In Germany, sugar is measured in OECHSLE; in France, in BAUMÉ; and in the United States, in BRIX.

Taste and Flavor are the same thing.

Answer: False.

Although we sometimes use the terms taste and flavor interchangeably, taste is different from flavor. The world of taste encompasses just five concepts: sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and umami. (A possible sixth taste—kokumi—has also been identified.) Wine can possess any of these five tastes, including saltiness, although there’s only a miniscule amount of actual salt—sodium chloride—in wine.

Flavor, as distinguished from taste, is a larger cognitive concept. Flavor is comprised of taste plus aroma, appearance, mouthfeel, and even sound. Certain colors, for example, are associated with certain flavors (it’s well documented that red correlates with sweetness; why else would the can of a famous cola be red?). And sensory scientists attribute some of the flavor of Champagne to its wonderful breathy sound.

The Land of Yes

The Languedoc, a large wine region in southern France, is named after a group of languages and dialects spoken there during the Middle Ages. The languages are known collectively as the langue d’oc, or “language of oc.” Oc is the… Continue reading

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