Neuroenology: How the Brain Creates the Taste of Wine

Gordon Shepherd

Published by Columbia University Press 2016

Neuroenology

How the Brain Creates the Taste of Wine

Gordon Shepherd

https://doi.org/10.7312/shep17700

Overview
Contents

About this book

Neuroenology is the first book on wine tasting by a neuroscientist. Shepherd comprehensively explains how the specific sensory pathways in the cerebral cortex create the memory of wine and how language is used to identify and imprint wine characteristics. Intended for a broad audience of readers—from amateur wine drinkers to sommeliers, from casual foodies to seasoned chefs—Neuroenology shows how the emotion of pleasure is the final judge of the wine experience. It includes practical tips for a scientifically informed wine tasting.

A pioneer of neurogastronomy writes an engaging treatment of the brain’s role in creating the taste of wine.

Author information

Gordon M. Shepherd is professor of neuroscience at the Yale School of Medicine and former editor in chief of the Journal of Neuroscience. His books include Neurogastronomy: How the Brain Creates Flavor and Why It Matters (Columbia, 2012), Handbook of Brain Microcircuits (2010), and Creating Modern Neuroscience: The Revolutionary 1950s (2009).

Reviews

Ann Noble, creator of the Wine Aroma Wheel:
In Neuroenology, Gordon Shepherd presents the complexities of sipping and moving wine in the mouth, how we perceive the smell of wine and how those stimuli interact in the brain to produce the final perception of wine flavor. A serious wine enthusiast can learn a lot from this review of wine tasting.

Gary Beauchamp, Monell Chemical Senses Center:
Savoring wine is perhaps the quintessential human multimodal experience, combining as it does vision, touch, taste, smell and even audition into a magnificent single aesthetic experience. Shepherd's enthusiasm in exploring this meeting of neural science and sensory input is infectious. He provides readers with a novel perspective that will enhance their appreciation of the pleasures of tasting fine wines, and inspire scientists and laypersons alike to test his hypotheses and extend his analyses.

Pierre-Marie Lledo, The Pasteur Institute, coauthor of The Custom-Made Brain:
By unifying knowledge scattered across plant biology, microbiology, viticulture, chemistry, neuroscience, and the humanities, Neuroenology founds the new science of how the taste of wine is created, not in the glass but in the brain. This book is a must for all serious wine connoisseurs, practitioners, neuroscientists, students, or simply epicureans enjoying one of life's pleasures. Let's have a toast to Gordon Shepherd and his marvelous new book!

Christopher R. Loss, Culinary Institute of America:
Shepherd provides a valuable and interesting glimpse into the human side of science and its inherently cross-disciplinary nature. After having read Neuroenology, every sniff, bite and gulp, will create a moment of reflection on how complex and wonderfully mysterious the human brain is.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	ix
Introduction A New Approach to Wine Tasting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part I. Fluid Dynamics of Wine Tasting
1. Sip and Saliva Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	7
2. The Tongue: Moving the Wine Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	22
3. Respiration and Wine Aromas Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	30
4. The Pathway for Retronasal Airflow Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	38
5. Swallow, Aroma Burst, and Finish Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	48
Part II. How Sensory Systems Create the Taste of Wine
6. Sight Creating the Color of Wine Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	57
7. Orthonasal Smell Wine Molecules Meet Smell Receptors Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	69
8. Orthonasal Smell Creating a Wine Aroma Image Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	80
9. Orthonasal Smell From Odor Image to Aroma Perception Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	88
10. Touch and the Mouthfeel of Wine Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	98
11. Taste Modalities and Wine Tasting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	106
12. Creating Taste Perception Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	115
13. Retronasal Smell The Hidden Force in Wine Tasting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	122
14. Retronasal Smell What Is So Special? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	129
15. Retronasal Smell Creating the Multisensory Wine Flavor Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	135
Part III. How Central Brain Systems Create the Plea sure of the Taste of Wine
16. Wine Tasting, Gender, and Aging Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
17. Memory and Wine Tasting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	151
18. The Language of Wine Tasting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	157
19. Pleasure The Final Judge in Wine Tasting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	162
20. Practical Applications of Neuroenology to the Plea sure of Wine Tasting Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	168
Appendix: A Wine- Tasting Tutorial with Jean- Claude Berrouet Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	175
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	185
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	193

Language: English
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;
Pages
- Main content: 224
Illustrations
- Other: 34 figures and diagrams

eBook

Published: December 19, 2016
ISBN: 9780231542876