Starting off with both food and wine that you like is the best pairing advice I can give to enhance your next dinner party. But assuming that you’re also occasionally interested in fine tuning the match, in finding one of those combinations that make you realize what all of the fuss is about, here’s a simple but enlightening little experiment that can tune up your taste buds for increased success.

As any food and wine pairing invariably evolves several sensations going on at the same time, it’s tough to figure out what’s working and what isn’t. The would-be pros train themselves to sort out the nuances by first isolating each of the major taste sensations — sweet, sour, bitter, salty, savoury – and seeing how they change the taste or texture of wine individually. Then once you know how each works on its own, it’s easier to figure out who’s doing what when they all gang up on your palate at once.

For this experiment you need one bottle of wine (or more; any type will do), and:

1. Lemon or lime wedge (sour)
2. A slice of red apple or dried fruit (sweet)
3. A pile of salt (salty)
4. A few shelled walnuts (bitter/astringent)
5. Unseasoned, rare-cooked beef (no salt or pepper) (savoury, aka umami)
6.  Tabasco or other hot sauce, cracked black pepper, or raw chili peppers (spice)

You now have a simple set of ingredients that represent each of the basic tastes (you don’t have to do this all at once). Keep in mind that the particular aromas and flavors are not of interest, just taste in the scientific sense of the word. Also, any type of wine will do since we’re after how it changes, not how it tastes, and all wines are affected in the same way.

The first step is to taste the wine on it’s own to get a sense of its basic structure: sugar, acid and tannin (astringency) levels. Once you’re familiar with it, then try each food item, one at a time. While it’s still in your mouth, have a sip of wine, and determine how it has changed.

Here’s what most people report experiencing:

1. Sour (lemon): the wine tastes sweeter and less acidic, creating a softer texture. If your wine was already sweet to begin with, it might seem overly cloying. But this is generally a good change.
2. Sweet (apple/dried fruit): the wine tastes more sour (higher acid) and bitter, hardening the texture. Big, tannic red wines will seem unpleasantly sour, bitter and mouth puckering. Generally a bad change. 
3. Salty: salt buffers tannins, the wine softens up and tastes fruitier . Generally a good change.
4. Bitter/astringent. Enhances bitterness and astringency in the wine; a sort of cumulative affect. White wines are not as affected as much since few are bitter and astringent. 
5. Umami (cooked beef): Increases sensation of bitterness, astringency and acidity. Already oaky wines seem even oakier. But umami+ umami = more umami flavor (a good thing since people like savory tastes), which is why umami-rich dishes work well with mature, savory wines, that have soft tannins and silky texture, i.e. no hard edges to intensify. 
6. Intense spice: Initially heightens irritants like acid, alcohol and tannins, then when the burn sets in, the taste buds are desensitized and the wine flavour is less noticeable (your attention is diverted to putting out the fire). When the spicy food hits the table, save the top kit for another time.

I hope you find the experiment useful, and now it’s time to put it all together.

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John Szabo is a master sommelier and wine writer for Toronto Standard. Follow his tweets here: @johnszabo.

More recommendations by John Szabo at www.johnswines.com

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