The Taste Of Wine Isn't All In Your Head, But Your Brain Sure Helps
What do listening to music, hitting a baseball and solving a complex math problem have in common? They all activate less gray matter than drinking wine.
According to Yale neuroscientist Gordon Shepherd, the flavor of wine "engages more of our brain than any other human behavior." The apparently simple act of sipping Merlot involves a complex interplay of air and liquid controlled by coordinated movements of the the tongue, jaw, diaphragm and throat. Inside the mouth, molecules in wine stimulate thousands of taste and odor receptors, sending a flavor signal to the brain that triggers massive cognitive computation involving pattern recognition, memory, value judgment, emotion and of course, pleasure.
Whereas most wine writers tend to focus on the various elements that
