Do your genetics determine which wines you prefer?
7 05 2008
I recently read an interesting article by Dan Berger addressing the notion that our genetic makeup determines everything we taste and thus like and dislike.
He notes: “Your genetic structure may determine the wines you like to taste and smell. Some people have a genetic makeup that lets them like everything. These lucky souls are called “supertasters.”
If we all taste the same wine slightly differently from one another, does each individual’s DNA determine our ability to detect some of the near-trivial elements in wine, both in aroma and taste?
Or do external factors such as our upbringing, acquired wine knowledge and level of exposure to differing wine types together with various ethnic, social, and acculturative influences play a greater role than genetic makeup?
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Interesting read and I’m no expert, but I don’t think the way we taste wine has anything to do with genetics…surely one wine tastes the same to everyone. Perhaps the way we are brought up does influence the styles which we tend to go for as you suggest though.
Coming from a scientific background I’m afraid I have to disagree with Jose, it’s inevitable that our genetics play a huge part in the way we analyse things through our senses - and why would wine be any different?
It’s a really important but complicated topic, and it’s one that I’ve followed closely over the last few years.
Dan’s article raises some interesting points, but doesn’t really grapple with the concepts enough to draw any sort of conclusion. Yes, there are individual differences in perception that have biology/genetics as their basis. He raises the PROP hypertaster/taster/non-taster topic, which is well covered in the science literature. There are also specific anosmias (some people fail to spot certain odours).
But to launch from here to a position where we say that we are all living in different taste worlds ignores the importance of learning and knowledge in tasting and appreciating wines.
I think a correct reading of the situation is that there are biological differences in flavour perception which mean that some people are more predisposed to like certain wines. But then most of us dislike wine the first time we taste it, aged 15 (or whatever age you first encountered wine)!
Our appreciation of wine is mostly learned. A serious appreciation of fine wine is only built on the back of repeated experience with wine, and developing a knowledge base about wine as a context from which to assess the next wine we taste.
It’s the sort of subject that you could write a whole book on…
@ Jamie Goode
Many thanks for your comment, I couldn’t agree more and when such a book does arise I look forward to reading it!
I had never before even breached this topic in my mind but it seems to have provoked instant academic debate.
In reality I can see from s non-scientific perspective that a certain person may have a genetic predisposition towards a scent of flavour (i.e. vanilla) but the extension of this throughout ones adult life must surely be overtaken by nurture, rather than nature.
Jamie makes the excellent point that most people do not enjoy their first experience with wine but become accustomed to, and eventually enjoy the flavours it brings.
This can easily be linked with numerous points about the ageing palette, one who smokes, drinks heavily and eats rich food often will often find themselves craving stronger flavours, more salted and seasoned food and so on. Perhaps the advances of age have a similar effect on the appreciation of wine?
This is a very interesting debate and I would agree with many of the posted comments here. As a medically trained doctor (as opposed to a thesis doctor) Jamie’s perspective is particularly poignant too, as both genetic makeup and ’social’ input determine our palate as well as likes and dislikes. Genetic makeup controls what abilities and what number of, and type of receptors we have from conception and the dividing embryo to the end result of a baby and a grown individual (note I don’t say mature). This involves everything from whether you can upcurl the sides of your tongue (only a certain percentage of the population) or downwards (less than 1%), to vision (10% of males have some element of colour blindness) and taste amongts every other aspect of the workings of the human body.
Social elements of learning and behaviour reinforce what we like and what we don’t like. I personally like chianti and port. Reminiscing when my old man opened a 1963 bottle of port and gave me a glass when I was 13, all I remember was feeling warm, nothing about the taste. Something I chide myself for now. This points to the fact that we learn these factors of how to taste wine. If I took 5 different bottles of red to the remote areas of the Pacific islands and got the locals to try them, they would probably all comment they taste the same as they have an under-developed concept of how to sense the differences in taste related to that foodstuff/ beverage. Comments on the taste differnces in mangos or sweet potatoes however would be beyond any of us, without further experience.
Not being a wine connaisseur means I still have much to learn about tasting wines but perhaps it all boils down to enjoyment of what you have in front of you which draws upon your genetic makeup of being able to detect the different tastes at varying intensity (salt, sweet, sour, bitter and umami - basically savoury) due to the number of receptors we have for these tastes on our tongues and in our noses. Our cerebral interpretation of these tastes is defined by our social development which in turn enables us to enjoy a wine or label it as “something only drunk by those who should have a brain transplant!”. Amusing comment from the article. As eluded to in a previous blog, it probably also relates to the known price of the wine as this influences positively if more expensive, our enjoyment of that wine!
Mark
Some references which may be of interest:
Disorders of taste and smell (very informative and reliable peer reviewed source)
http://www.emedicine.com/ent/topic333.htm
The Biology of taste
http://biology.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pbio.0020064&ct=1
Why is fat so tasty to mammals? Scientific article (you can do a search for ’sensory taste’ and click on reviews…
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17484372?ordinalpos=15&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum