This document discusses factors that influence personal wine preferences. It explains that physiology and psychology both impact how individuals experience wine differently. Physiology refers to sensory sensitivity, which can vary dramatically in aspects like taste receptors. Psychology involves how the brain interprets sensations based on memories and experiences. Together, these determine unique wine preferences. The document encourages focusing on enjoyment, understanding individual differences, and practicing wine taste evaluations to better recognize factors that shape preferences.

1. UNDERSTANDING WINE
PERCEPTION, PREFERENCES & VALUES
This material is offered free by Tim Hanni MW, please notate source if information is
used for any other purposes than the New Fundamentals of Wine curriculum.
Please do not revise without written consent
Copyright 11/2010 HanniCo Llc, all rights reserved
Tim Hanni MW  tim@timhanni.com

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Learning about wine is challenging…
•Wine language is confusing.
•I seem to get contradictory
messages and information.
•Why don’t I like the wines I
am told I am supposed to
like?
Especially if you don’t understand our differences!

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Why You Like What You Like
What YOU experience
How YOU interpret the experiences
Determines YOUR Personal Wine Preferences and Values

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Focus on ENJOYMENT
Drinking wines that taste wonderful.
With the foods YOU really enjoy.
Learning to understand and celebrate our
individual differences and preferences.
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Why You Like What You Like
The Pieces to the
Wine Preference Puzzle
– Sensory Physiology
– Sensory Psychology

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Personal Preferences:
Yum versus Yuk
Physiology (sensory hardware):
– Reception and transmission of
sensations
– The range and intensity of sensory
information sent to our brain
The sensations you may experience can
occur differently to other people.

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Personal Preferences:
Yum versus Yuk
Psychology (sensory software)
– How your brain processes the sensory information it
receives
– The emotions and judgments strongly connected to
YOUR personal memories and experiences.
Our INTERPRETATION of sensations can vary
dramatically and CHANGE OVER TIME.

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Sensory Sensitivity
Anatomy: how many taste/smell/touch/etc. receptors, what kind, signal strength =
Range and intensity of of sensations
Learning,
Observation
Culture,
Environment
Life
Experiences
PERSONAL
OPINIONS
Right vs. Wrong
Good vs. Bad
Like vs. Don’t Like
Your wine preferences
Are a unique combination of your sensory hardware and software

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Sensory
Physiology

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Physiology and Personal
Preferences

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TasteSQ (sensitivity quotient)
• Our sensory anatomy can differ dramatically AND
• This greatly influences experiences and personal
preferences.
NOT good or bad, no better or worse – just different
More than 12,000 3,000 is average Less than 500

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MORE Sensitive LESS Sensitive
• Coffee: Yuk or need LOTS of
cream and sugar
• Salt: LOVE salt or salty snacks
• Artificial Sweetener: tastes
horrible!
• Coffee: may or may not need
some cream and sugar
• Salt: Like salt or salty snacks
• Artificial Sweetener:
unpleasant or ‘different’ but
may be bearable.
• Coffee: black and strong, often
loves Scotch and cigars
• Salt: Not usually an issue
• Artificial Sweetener: usually
no problem.
TasteSQ Correlates to MANY Preferences:
Food and beverage preferences
Hyper-
Sensitive
Sensitive Tolerant
Sweet
Remember preferences are often RE-PROGRAMMED over time (acquired tastes)
High alcohol wines BURN! High alcohol wines SWEET
High alcohol wines IRRITATING

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MORE Sensitive LESS Sensitive
General preferences for wine styles
Hyper-
Sensitive
Sensitive Tolerant
Sweet
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SWEET
For people who want
sweet wines. Period.
These wines are
fresh, delicious and
perfect for those who
demand sweetness
in their wines.
DELICATE
Wines that tend to
have more delicacy
than power.
Especially for people
who want wines with
less bitterness and
lower alcohol.
SMOOTH
Wines that combine
intensity and balance
are important .These
wines tend to appeal
to a wider range of
personal tastes in
general.
INTENSE
Love intensity and
power? Then these
wines may be the
ones for you. These
wines tend to have
power and generally
higher alcohol levels.
High alcohol wines BURN! High alcohol wines SWEET
High alcohol wines IRRITATING

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Moscato
Red Zinfandel
Riesling
Pinot Noir
Sauvignon Blanc Syrah/Shiraz
Dry Rose Cabernet Sauvignon
Merlot
Hyper-
Sensitive
Sensitive Tolerant
Sweet
TasteSQ
Wine Types and Flavor Categories
Wine Preferences Map
White Zinfandel Chardonnay
Sweet Delicate Smooth Intense
SWEET Wines DRY Wines (not sweet

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Sensory
Psychology

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Why You Like What You Like
Your opinions: YOUR experiences and how YOU interpret wine sensations
Immediate (occuring) senasations are compared with our past
experiences and allow us to evalute and form opinions

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YOUR Memories and Experiences
Affect Your Wine Descriptions and Preferences
“This wine reminds me of fresh cut grass on a summer day…”
The ‘grassy’ smell of
Sauvignon Blanc may
be ‘yum’ or ‘yuk’
depending on YOUR
personal experiences
with lawns and/or
grass.
Your reactions and
preferences can easily
change over time as
you have new
experiences.

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Why You Like What You Like
What YOU experience (TasteSQ)
How YOU interpret the experiences
Determines YOUR Personal Wine Values and Preferences

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What to do next…
PRACTICE AND PASS IT ON:
Conduct the TasteSQ interview with friends, family and
associates. See what they think and practice to get really good
at it.
You can go to www.yumyuk.com for more information and the
online TasteSQ interview.
Remember The Mission:
Understand, embrace and cultivate
all wine consumers
…and don’t forget to have fun!

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For more information contact:
Tim Hanni MW
tim@timhanni.com