New Yorker article on supertasters

Both entertaining and interesting. Seriously doubt I am a supertaster but would not be at all surprised if my wife is one.

Brodie

There’s 3 minutes I’ll never get back.

My wife is a supertaster, but drinks wine and eats cilantro fine. We suspect our daughter may be a supertaster as well, and will give her one of those cheap strip/lick tests in coming months.

That New Yorker article is only a year old, but whether being a “supertaster” is good or bad thing when it comes to wine is a question that has been batted around for more than a decade – for example:

Very fun to read. I did the circle-reinforcement blue food coloring papillae counting thing 25 years ago at my house with the local newspaper’s wine critic as a guest. Mostly non-geeks in attendance. Through her career she was criticized for being the opposite of Parker and therefore unhelpful with drinkers’ buying decisions, not hedonistic enough, sniped about flaws too much, placed balance above deliciousness, no scores. Out of ten people, I came in second place and I’m pretty sure I’m average. She had at least twice as many bumps on her tongue as I, she was a supertaster, and hence her approach to wine criticism was, to me, explained.
I would guess the Parker in those days was nowhere near a supertaster and that is no criticism, I want to read someone who is tasting what I would taste in a wine. He just liked oak and alcohol more than I.

Correct answer
Linda was a colleague of mine in chemosensation. Haven’t seen her in years but she had little interest in wine at that time, and suspect she still doesn’t. This concept of hers has very limited relation to wine.

One of her Yale colleagues, a very highly respected neuroscientist is getting into wine at a latter age and wrote a book called Neuroenology which was not favorably reviewed by me in “The World of Fine Wine”

There are only minimal relations between wine appreciation and science

+1

An engaging story. We had a friend in college who had this supertasting issue. Basically she could tolerate steamed chicken, boiled rice, and rarely - a Bud Light. Everything tasted wrong to her.

I put cilantro on everything. Love the stuff! Used a whole bunch in my chana masala tonight.