Does your food photograph well?

Our senses can influence our overall dining experience too.  Food plating is important, but following close behind is the general atmosphere of the establishment.  The lighting, sound, layout, and décor are all factors that can affect our enjoyment of a meal.  These components will make the first impression of a dining experience and can set the tone for the rest of the meal.  Food presentation though, will seal the deal.

We can take note of the eating habits of children as an example of the importance of food presentation.  Serve a plate of vegetables and often they look at it in disgust.  Arrange the vegetables into a smiley face and all of a sudden they are willing to give them a try.  While we can assume most adults won’t take it to that extreme, what we see on the plate can change our expectation of what we’re about to eat.  Not only that, but presentation can lead to great exposure for a restaurant if done well.  With the saturation of social media today, it’s easier than ever for people to instantly share a dining experience.   It’s all too common for guests to snap a photo or two of a beautifully plated dish and share it with their social network before even taking a bite.

An appealing food presentation is key.

So now that we know presentation is important, what are some guidelines to follow?  Food presentation is still all about timing.  It must look appealing, but also not take too much time—no one wants their food to be colder or hotter than it’s supposed to be.  Make sure to serve hot foods on warm plates and cold foods on cold plates too.  A good balance of different textures, even colors, is something to think about as well.  Add in a garnish if your dish needs a pop to make it more interesting.  Balance in portion size is important too—make sure your plate size fits the amount of food that is being served.  Also think about the theme of your restaurant.  Is it simple? Classic? Funky? Fancy?  Arrange your plates to reflect that vibe.

Ready to go out and present a winning dish?  What type of things catch your eyes?

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Generally speaking, if you drink the exact same coffee, in the exact same place, from the exact same mug every day, and all conditions surrounding it are constant, then the coffee should taste the same to you each time.  But if you change any one of those elements, it may cause your brain to perceive the taste of the coffee differently.   One article entitled “The color of your coffee mug can change the way your coffee tastes” uses color as an example to suggest that “One explanation is that we never see colors by themselves; instead, we see them in reference to other colors.”  A red strawberry appears even redder when served in a white dish than it does in a darker colored dish.  We then continue to make associations with that color.  We might expect that extra red strawberry to be extra sweet, since red fruits often are riper than green fruits, and that can make us perceive it to taste sweeter than maybe it actually is.  Or that color may be tied to certain past experiences, which makes us predict what the new taste experience will be like.

Color can influence our perception of taste.

Numerous studies have been done on the subject and it turns out that it can be valuable information for companies and restaurants to consider when developing or selling products.  A change in shape, texture, color, presentation, packaging, environment, even the crockery and cutlery used can make a difference.  A few years ago, Coca-Cola experienced this the hard way when they changed their classic red Coca-Cola can to white with polar bears for the holidays.  There was an uproar among classic Coke fans, falsely claiming that the company had changed their long standing formula and that it didn’t taste as good, according to a recent Adweek article.  It could have been that the white can reminded consumers of the similarly colored silver Diet Coke can causing them to associate the soda’s taste with the taste of its diet version, though we may never know for sure.

Presentation, arrangement, and plating can all be factors in our enjoyment of food.

What we do know is that the way a product or meal is presented matters in order for customers to have the best experience.  For restaurants, this includes the dishes food is served on as well as how it’s arranged, which also relates to quality.  Neatly plated or artistically plated meals signify that a lot of effort has been spent on preparing the dish.  Many people associate that with good quality, and therefore the expectation of good taste.  It’s not to say that a burger and fries served in a plastic basket instead of on a white plate can’t taste good, but people will subconsciously expect different things under different conditions.  There are countless variables that can affect perception, so while we can generalize, it isn’t always the easiest to pinpoint the exact reason for a change in taste.  However, it is something that can be experimented with and you may be surprised with the turnout.  Have you tried incorporating all of the senses into your food presentations?  What changes have you noticed?

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Every wine glass is comprised of three different parts:  the bowl, the stem, and the base.  The base allows the glass to stand up, and the stem allows you to hold the glass without warming the wine or smudging the glass.  The most imperative, though, is the bowl—designed specifically to allow the appropriate amount of surface area for the wine you are drinking.  Generally speaking, white wine does not need to breathe as much as its red counterpart and thus white wine glasses are taller with narrower openings whereas red wine glasses are designed with a larger surface area, allowing the wine to “breathe.”

White wine glasses typically come in two shapes. Both are tall, u-shaped, and upright to help maintain the optimal cooler serving temperatures.  But younger whites, such as a crisp sauvignon blanc, require a slightly larger opening to direct the wine to the tips and sides of the tongue to allow the drinker to taste its sweetness.  More mature whites, as in a buttery chardonnay, necessitate a straight and tall glass, dispensing the wine to the back of the tongue so that its bolder flavors are sensed.

Red wine glasses are, as mentioned, fuller and rounder to allow one to dip their nose in and smell the complexities of the bouquet as the wine comes into contact with the air.  A Bordeaux glass is taller, with a slightly smaller bowl, and is designed for full-bodied red wines such as cabernet or merlot—the tall glass sends the wine directly to the back of your mouth to maximize its flavor.  The more delicate flavors of lighter red wines—think Pinot Noir—require a larger bowl to direct the wine toward the tip of the tongue.

When drinking sparkling wines, the intent is to capture the flavor while retaining the carbonation and keeping the fluid as cold as possible for as long as possible.  Fluted glasses with long stems are optimal for the enjoyment of your favorite bubbly.

Dessert wines are slightly higher in alcohol content so serving them in small glasses is ideal.  Additionally, smaller glasses direct the wine to the back of the mouth, slightly quelling its sweetness.

Practically speaking, it may be difficult to offer a glass style for every wine provided, either in your home or in your restaurant.  A general suggestion, then, would be to make sure you have flutes on hand for sparkling wines, and some sort of all-purpose red wine glass as well as an all-purpose white glass.  Or at the very least, choose a single glass with a bowl shape between that of a red and white wine glass so that it acceptable to use no matter the drink preference of your diner.

As for the material of a wine glass, the favorable choice is crystal or blown glass because the glass is thin, as is the rim, so as not to inhibit the flow of the wine you are drinking.  While designs on wine glasses can be fun, clear and smooth is preferred because it allows one to appreciate the legs of the wine, how the light affects the color, and the clarity and texture of the wine being tasted.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, how you clean your wine glasses matters.  Hand washing in hot water only is the preferred method of cleaning, as it does best at preventing soap build-up.  However, if you must use soap, remember that less is more when washing your wine glasses.

Drinking wine should be a pleasure, and while good wine is a pleasure in and of itself, pairing it with the appropriate glass can intensify your wine tasting experience.  Whether red wine, white wine, or sparkling wine is your drink of choice, give the optimal glass choice a try and see if you notice a difference.

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Take a sip of the wine from your glass but do not swallow it yet.  First, try to expose the wine to all of your taste buds by rolling it around in your mouth.  While your taste buds are detecting the complex flavors of the wine, you should also pay attention to the texture of the wine, and to its weight or body.  Do you taste fruit?  Spice?  Butter or honey?  Do you taste herbs or earthiness?  Woodiness?  Or perhaps you taste a complex combination of several of these characteristics.  The flavor components of the wine should be well balanced and proportionate, and they should present harmoniously in your mouth.

Complex wines change in flavor even as you taste them.  If you take a second sip of the wine you are tasting, try to do it with a little bit of air—you may have to “slurp” to accomplish this.  You should be able to note some differences in the flavors and the textures of the wine when air is added to your mouth.  Can you detect many flavors as the wine moves around in your mouth?  What is its mouthfeel—or the texture and weight of the wine?  Does it change when you add air to your sip or does it remain somewhat the same?  Let the flavors dance in your mouth while you ask yourself these questions.

When you finally drink the wine, note the length of time the taste remains in your mouth even after you have swallowed.  This is the wine’s finish.  The longer the flavors linger is a good determinate of the quality of the wine.  What is your last flavor impression?  Do you like the way it tastes?  At this point in your tasting experiment, you may want to take notes of your overall impression of the wine.  Taking notes has a two-fold benefit:  one, you will be able to remember later the wines that you prefer and why, which is very helpful if you plan to taste several throughout the day.  And two, journaling the characteristics of each wine will help you in your learning process.

When will you be heading out to do a wine tasting?  Armed with a small amount of background knowledge should heighten your experience.  From the first view of a wine to the last swallow, tasting wine can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be.  And since there is no right or wrong way to taste a wine, remember first and foremost to enjoy what you are drinking!

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There are three levels of a wine’s aroma that you will hear a wine specialist refer to.  The first is its primary, or varietal, aroma, the smell of the variety of grape used to make the wine.  And then its secondary, or vinous, aroma, which is developed during the pre-fermentation and fermentation processes and is a by-products of the yeast activities.

Then, finally, you will hear specialists speak to the bouquet of the wine, or its tertiary aroma.  This is the most complex of the smell of the wine, taking time—sometimes years—to fully develop.   In essence, the bouquet of the wine comes from the aging process.  For example, if a vintner uses oak barrels, that may contribute to the spicy, smoky, or vanilla scent of a wine.

When evaluating wine by the smell, you should first give the glass a vigorous swirl in order to allow oxygen to enter the wine.  This will cause the wine to release its scents.  Put your nose near the rim of the glass, using care to hover just over the top of the rim.  Don’t inhale deeply but rather take a series of quick, short sniffs.  It helps to keep your mouth slightly open.  After breathing in the aroma of the wine, take a moment to process what you smell.

First, were there any off-aromas?  Did you smell musty wet newspaper?  The smell of burnt matches?  Vinegar?  Did the wine reek of sweat?  Anything off-smelling could indicate spoilage, volatile acids, too much sulfur dioxide, or other flaws that deem the wine unpalatable or not fit for consumption.

After determining there are no flaws, smell for the aroma of fruit.  As your nose becomes more trained you will be able to detect a spectrum of possible fruit scents that will help you to identify the growing conditions of the vineyard—in other words, were the grapes grown in a mostly cool climate, a moderate climate, or a very warm climate?  It is also possible to determine the terrain of the vineyard by the varietal aroma of the wine.

Some of the complex tertiary smells you may encounter are the more complex scents of flowers, grass, earth/mineral/rocks, tack-room leather, smoke, vanilla, chocolate, espresso, or roasted nuts.  Remember, these bouquets are a remnant of the aging process of the wine itself, and they are the elements that give the wine its valued complexity.

There are different aromas associated with white wines than with their red counterparts, but regardless of the color of the wine, the fruit should smell clean and fresh.  While earth and mineral smells are considered complex, dirt in the fruit is not a desirable trait.

Putting words to the wine aromas will help you to focus, understand, and retain your impression of different wines.  Your memory is a good means for determining wine smells and what they mean, and learning some of the language of vintners and wine specialists will certainly take you far.  But the list is vast and can be confusing, especially when you are first learning.   A great resource is the Davis Wine Aroma Wheel, designed to help you learn to describe the complex flavors of wine.

In reality, there is no right or wrong way to nose a wine.  There are tips to get you started and tips to help you progress in your knowledge, but in the end, do what works for you to evaluate by aroma.  It’s not rocket science, but rather just a tool to help you fully enjoy your wine-drinking experience!  Cheers!

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The clarity of a wine refers to its ability to reflect or absorb light.  Observing the clarity of white wines, and sparkling wines too, is pretty straight-forward.  The wine should be shiny and you should be able to see through it.  It’s a bit more challenging with red wines, though, simply because of the darker color of the liquid.  Tip the glass away from you and against a white background.  You should be able to see a shine within the red hue.  Wines that have gone bad may have a lack of clarity, such as cloudiness or murkiness observed in the wine.

Next, check a wine’s color by contrasting the liquid against the white background.  Tilt your glass a bit and note its intensity.  Light-bodied red wines such as Pinot Noir and Gamay, for example, range in color from lighter, brighter magenta to garnet, while their full-bodied counterparts, such as Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon will be a deeper burgundy color and more opaque in appearance.  White wines tend to deepen in color as they age.  A young Pinot Grigio may have an almost green hue to it, while a rich golden color lends itself to an oak-aged Chardonnay.   If you notice a bluish rim on a wine, don’t be alarmed.  This may occur in a lower-acidity wine such as Syrah.

The consistency of a wine can also be used to assess it.  Examine the thickness of the wine by swirling the liquid around in the glass and observe the “legs;” the size and the width of the legs, paired with the speed at which they move down the sides of the glass, can tell a couple of things about the wine.  While some believe that more legs equal a better wine, in reality it is rather a direct correlation to the alcohol and sugar content of the wine you are observing.  Thin, quickly-moving legs point to a wine that is lighter in body, lower in alcohol, and without residual sugar, whereas thicker, slow legs are a determinant of a fuller-bodied wine that has a higher alcohol content.

So always, when you are looking for a spectacular wine to enjoy, take the time to really look at what you have in front of you.  Although it seems like a lot, the process really should only take about 30 seconds.  And you will not be sorry that you took that half a minute to evaluate the look of the wine.  It can tell you a lot about the wine before you move on to the next important aspect of wine tasting:  the smell.

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