How Much of Wine’s Taste is Shaped by Psychology? Dr. Alex Maltman Reveals the Surprising Evidence

Why is geology essential for vineyard management but overrated when it comes to wine taste? Do soils get too much credit for wine flavour, when invisible factors might be the real drivers? What does “minerality” in wine really mean - rock, nutrient, or just taste perception? How much of what we perceive about the taste of wine is actually shaped by psychology?

In this episode of the Unreserved Wine Talk podcast, I'm chatting with Dr. Alex Maltman, author of the terrific new book, Taste the Limestone, Smell the Slate. A Geologist Wanders Through the World of Wine.

You can find the wines we discussed at https://www.nataliemaclean.com/winepicks

 

Key Takeaways

Can we taste the limestone, smell the slate? No, and those descriptors in wine have caused a lot of confusion over the years. I also think they make wine more of an insider’s club. However, growers need to know their soils to manage their vineyard, from decisions about rootstock to irrigation.

Alex observes astutely that soil is tangible and therefore more easily associated with wine quality than is a host of more important invisible factors from airflow to humidity.  As he says, geology has charisma. Personally, I think wind and temperature need to pool their budgets and hire a PR agency, get more of that It factor that limestone has. 

Alex uses the word geological mineral for compounds that come together to make rocks whereas nutrient minerals are single elements, which both humans and vines need to live. While nutrient minerals are in the geological minerals, they're locked in sharing electrons, and certain processes must happen to make them accessible to the vine roots. The tasting descriptor minerality, which came into vogue a couple of decades ago, a vague adjective of taste perception with a definition highly debated.

Alex believes that psychology deeply influences our perceptions of taste, from believing that a heavy bottle signals quality wine to environmental factors like music and colour. Oh, and let’s not forget those pesky wine writers telling us what’s good or not so great.

 

About Dr. Alex Maltman

Alex Maltman is Emeritus Professor of Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth University, in Wales, U.K. Alongside a decorated career in university teaching and research, Alex has for fifty years grown vines and made wine at his home. And through this, perhaps inevitably, he became interested in vineyard geology and its fashionable but poorly understood relationship with wine. This led to numerous publications in both the popular press and academic journals. Alex is the author of the acclaimed Vineyards, Rocks, and Soils: A Wine Lover’s Guide to Geology and newly released Taste the Limestone, Smell the Slate. A Geologist Wanders Through the World of Wine.

 

 

 

To learn more, visit https://www.nataliemaclean.com/podcast.