A song that uses science to change the way you taste wine, and it’s amazing
Nedbank and the Cape Winemakers Guild unveils Tasting Notes: A Story of Sound and Wine.
We all know wine and food pairings are a thing, and hey, wine and music as a pairing doesn’t sound too unrealistic either. But have you ever heard of sound interacting with your brain to change the way you perceive taste? Apparently, this is why food tastes so bad on an airplane. The team at Nedbank and the Cape Winemakers Guild had heard about this and, as a result, they created a music track using a combination of science and creativity that is proven to heighten the flavours of any Cabernet Sauvignon. The result – red wine has now become even more delicious than ever.
Tasting Notes: A Story of Sound and Wine has become a unique wine-tasting experience and passion mash-up ─ a new way of engaging with wine. According to Khensani Nobanda, Nedbank Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs, the idea came about after the national lockdown and the corresponding alcohol bans led to the wine industry needing to find a way to start 2022 with a bang.
Over the past year, the South African wine industry has gone through significant challenges due to Covid-19. So, Nedbank, as a long-term supporter of wine, together with the Cape Winemakers Guild, set out to transform the way people see wine through music.
‘Music is a universal language and the right wine can make any experience more pleasurable. So, we set out to tap into our collective love of music and create a literal wine-and-music pairing to achieve our goal of opening up wine to new audiences,’ says Nobanda.
The Tasting Notes creation process entailed translating a Cabernet Sauvignon’s tasting map into an instrumentation map. This was achieved by gathering data through electroencephalography (EEG) headset technology, which measured emotional responses during various rounds of sensory wine-tasting experiences. This data was then combined with sound-to-taste mapping to plot the tasting experience into a song. After an extensive testing period, the result was a track that peels away the flavours of any Cabernet Sauvignon, which is one of the most available, loved and recognised grape varietals the world over.
“Tasting Notes represents the inclusivity and innovation of Nedbank, the Cape Winemakers Guild and the Protégé Programme. Together, we have reimagined a new way to connect people with wine -through music on both scientific and Oenological levels, whilst appealing to those who appreciate the passionate artistry behind wine,” said Andrea Mullineux, Cape Winemakers Guild member, co-owner and winemaker of Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines.
Buy any bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from your local bottle store and click here to experience Tasting Notes: A Story of Sound and Wine for yourself.
For more information, visit https://nedbankcwg.co.za or click here to watch how the story of Tasting Notes, the ultimate wine-tasting experience, was born.