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The Provençal rosé paradox: Scientists reveal why wine you enjoy on holiday in France doesn’t taste the same in the UK
- Rosé found in Provence has become synonymous with the region
- Many holidaymakers take bottles home with them – but they never quite taste the same
- An expert from Oxford University has explained this so-called Provencal Rosé Paradox
With its light pink color and delicious flavors of summer berries, the rosé from Provence has become synonymous with the region.
In fact, if you’ve been to the South of France, you liked the wine so much that you decided to buy a few bottles to take home and enjoy with friends.
But despite tasting incredible in the French summer sun, the wine never quite tastes the same on a cold winter night in Britain.
Now Professor Charles Spence of the University of Oxford has explained the phenomenon, which he has dubbed the Provençal Rosé Paradox.
‘The same wine can taste so different depending on the situation we’re in,’ Professor Spence said.
With its light pink color and delicious aromas of summer berries, the rosé from Provence has become synonymous with the region
Professor Spence worked with wine distributors, Berkmann Wine Cellars, to understand why the same food and wine can taste so different under different scenarios.
The team surveyed 2,000 respondents and found that 62 percent value the taste of food and drink more when dining out with friends than at home.
However, 58 percent said dining with someone they don’t like can ruin the taste of a meal for them.
Professor Spence said: ‘There is an intrinsic link between social and emotional cues and the experience of eating food and drinking wine.
“This taps into the idea of the ‘social facilitation effect’, a well-known theory of gas physics in which we tend to enjoy eating and drinking more in the presence of people we like.”
It’s not just the people we’re with that can influence taste — location matters, too, according to Professor Spence.
“The taste and enjoyment of a specific wine can change based on context and environment,” he said.
‘Many of us know the experience of enjoying rosé wine in the South of France.
“It can taste so delicious that we end up buying a few bottles to take home and share with friends on a cold winter night.”
‘But it is very often disappointing – the wine tastes different, somehow much less tasty.
Despite tasting incredible in the French summer sun, the wine never quite tastes the same on a cold winter night in Britain (stock image)
“This is the paradox: how the same wine can taste so different depending on the situation we find ourselves in.”
On vacation, we are usually happy and relaxed, which Professor Spence says can increase our appreciation of flavors.
“The social situations we find ourselves in can really affect the way we experience taste – pleasure that comes from a preferred social interaction will automatically boost our mood, meaning our ability to appreciate taste is greatly increased,” he added.
The study comes shortly after researchers claimed that when it comes to white wine, you should avoid varieties that come in clear bottles.
Researchers at the University of Trento found that wines stored in transparent barrels—known as “flint glass”—can react with light and develop off-flavors, including “boiled cabbage” and “wet dog.”
“Light can dramatically damage the aroma profile and sensory identity of varietal white wine in less than a week’s shelf life in flint glass bottles,” the researchers wrote in their study, published in PNAS.