Demystifying wine expertise: olfactory threshold, perceptual skill and semantic memory in expert and novice wine judges.

Full Abstract

We investigated recognition and identification of wine-relevant odours as a function of domain-specific expertise. Eleven wine experts and 11 wine novices participated in tasks measuring olfactory threshold, odour recognition, odour identification, and consistency of odour naming. Twenty-four wine-relevant odorants were sampled orthonasally by each participant in the semantic (identification; consistency of naming) and episodic (recognition) memory tasks. Results showed superior olfactory recognition by expert wine judges, despite their olfactory sensitivity and bias measures being similar to those of novices. Contrary to predictions based on reports of an association between odour memory and semantic processing, wine experts did not perform better than novices on the verbal memory tasks. Further, ability to recognize odours and ability to name odours were not positively correlated, although the novices' data showed a trend in this direction. The results imply that the source of superior odour recognition in wine experts was not enhanced semantic memory and linguistic capabilities for wine-relevant odours. One interpretation of the data is that wine experts were less susceptible than wine novices to verbal overshadowing. When forced to identify the odorants, experts' superior perceptual skills protected them from verbal interference, whereas novices' generated verbal representations of the odours were emphasized at the expense of the odorant itself. This has implications for training in wine-evaluation skills.

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Author information

Author/s: Parr, Wendy V (WV); Heatherbell, David (D); White, K Geoffrey (KG);

Affiliation: Centre for Viticulture & Oenology, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand. parrw1(-atsign-)lincoln.ac.nz

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Chemical senses (Chem Senses), published in England. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2002-Oct; vol 27 (issue 8) : pp 747-55

Dates: Created 2002/10/15; Completed 2003/03/20; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12379599, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

1-Butanol - pharmacology
Adaptation, Physiological
Adult
Female
Humans
Male
Memory

Middle Aged
Odors
Olfactory Receptor Neurons - physiology
Perception
Sensory Thresholds
Smell
Wine - analysis

Associated Chemicals: 1-Butanol (71-36-3)

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