A change in wine-food training
Wine & Spirits Education Trust endorses Tim Hanni's individualistic wine pairing principles Tim Hanni
London, England—The London-based Wine & Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a leading educational association often used by those interested in earning their Masters of Wine qualification, is significantly revising its training about wine and food matching. The trust is adopting a consumer-oriented but non-traditional approach similar to that advocated by Tim Hanni, Master of Wine, who has been working with the group.
Hanni's controversial principles focus on individual preferences—some physiological—rather than traditional rules that tell consumers what they should like.
Antony Moss, the Trust’s research and development director, noted two changes in emphasis in the training:
• The new curriculum discusses the impact of umami on wine, which was not previously part of the training. Umami is sometimes referred to as the fifth basic taste. Merriam-Webster defines it: a taste sensation that is meaty or savory and is produced by several amino acids and nucleotides (as glutamate and aspartate).
• Makes a subtle change of emphasis from statements like “foods with high/low levels of X goes well/badly with wines that have high/low levels of Y” to: “Foods with high/low levels of X will make the level of Y in a wine seem higher/lower.” This leaves it to the consumer to decide whether this apparent change in the wine’s character is desirable, while still highlighting which effects people generally like and dislike.
Moss added, “This means that for practical purposes the advice given is identical, but the tone is now less ‘imperative’.”
Textbook revisions under way
The key WSET textbook, Exploring the World of Wines and Spirits, is currently being revised, translated and reprinted with the new chapter and is scheduled for distribution this fall. You can download a reprint of the new chapter, with the permission of the WSET, at this link. Some of the matching principles in it definitely differ from common assertions.
Moss said, “Our previous approach to teaching food and wine had evolved separately from Tim’s, but through convergent evolution we’d reached very similar conclusions. The main impact is summarized by the second point.”
He added, “Fortunately, I believe we have never said anything to give the impression that food and wine matching is more complicated than it is.”
Moss continued, “Before taking the course, most seem to think that food and wine matching has to be more complicated than the principles we outline. Perhaps they worry that if it really is that simple, then what are sommeliers for?—a particularly acute worry for sommeliers who are on the course.”
Hanni has led a crusade to change notions of wine and food pairing, even conducting research with Dr. Virginia Utermohlen, a researcher at the Cornell University Taste Science Laboratory. Their long-term study of wine consumer attitudes, behavior and physiology demonstrates that preferences are partly based on the individual characteristics of our tongues and noses, and are not universal among consumers.
Hanni teaches sommeliers:
• Ensure that the wine selection has the basic flavor elements that appeal to the personal preferences of the guest.
• Avoid serving a wine with a food that will interact in a manner that will make the wine taste less pleasant.
• Endeavor to serve the wine with a food that will make the wine taste even more pleasant.
Will the change have any impact on those taking the notoriously challenging M.W. exams?
Moss said, “I don’t think this will have any impact on the WSET tasting exams, but there is potential in the theory papers to ask a question about food and wine matching. The examiners would have to accept a range of valid answers, provided they were convincingly answered.
“However, because most candidates pass through the WSET programs before enrolling on their M.W. studies, I would expect that if a food and wine question were asked in four to five years’ time (about the shortest time interval between students completing their WSET Advanced Certificates in the coming year and reaching the stage where they feel ready to sit M.W. exams), many answers would be influenced by these ideas.”
Lingering doubts
Hanni was in London recently and conducted a Master Class with the WSET team. “It was very well received, with some lingering doubts and resistance clearly evident from a few attendees,” Hanni said of his presentation at WSET headquarters.
“I know that a lot of my assertions may at first seem extreme, but I am very careful with my research and invite others to participate in helping to bring about positive change to an area that has become increasingly confusing and contradictory. My transition from staunch traditionalist to ‘disruptive innovator’ in the wine and food arena did not come about either quickly or easily.”
Hanni said that he believes that globally expanding wine sales and promoting a greater diversity of wine styles will come when the wine community learns to celebrate the diversity of wine consumer tastes and deepen its understanding of individual consumer preferences.
“Combining this consumer-centric approach with a new and more accurate understanding of the dynamics of wine and food interactions—with much-needed revisions to inaccurate wine and food principles—could be the key for stimulating wine consumption from consumers who love wine but are off-put by the unnecessary, confusing rituals and false promises of wine and food pairing.”
He concluded, “My mission is to expand wine enjoyment and by introducing a much greater rigor into a community that operates on a lot of half-truths and myths.”