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w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m J u l y - A u g 2 014 | V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T 3 1 flavor chemistry, including wine, with par- ticular emphasis on aroma chemistry. His research continues to offer significant insights into how people perceive flavor. Miguel Gómez, an assistant profes- sor at Cornell's Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, v i e w s t h e a d v a n c e s i n understanding taste per- ception from a somewhat different angle. For Gómez, bringing tasting room staff up to date with current thinking about the complex nature of human smell and taste is an excellent way to increase customer satisfac- tion during winery visits. TASTING AND THE TASTING ROOM A r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t headed by Gómez found that, on average, 60% of New York state wine sales occur during visits to tast- ing rooms. "If you can convert a satisfied customer to a very satisfied customer," s a i d G ó m e z , " t h e y a r e likely to spend about $10 more and buy an additional bottle of wine in a given visit. To increase satisfac- ou've probably been told that differ- ent tastes are detected on different parts of the tongue ... that there five basic tastes, bitter, sweet, sour, salty and umami ... that the human nose can detect approximately 10,000 different aromas. For years, I've heard these statements rattled off so confidently by fellow wine writers, educators, marketers and vint- ners that I originally assumed they were incontrovertible. But according to today's leading biochemists, geneticists, sensory specialists and food psychologists, none of the above statements are entirely factual. An impressive amount of ongoing research in the East is exploring how humans taste and perceive flavors. In Phila- delphia, Pa., the Monell Chemical Senses Center is the world's only independent, nonprofit scientific institute dedicated to research on taste and smell. Monell's long- standing interdisciplinary model was itself a scientific experiment when the center was founded 40 years ago. Today it remains a nexus where scientists from many disci- plines work together on the common objec- tive of understanding the mechanisms and functions of taste and smell. New York's Cornell University is one of the world's most important institutions delving into various aspects of taste, fla- vor and smell, with Department of Food Science professor Terry Acree a leading investigator in the subject. Acree's career at Cornell has focused on challenges in + Science has recently debunked several myths about how people taste and perceive flavor. + Our eyes and ears often influence taste perception as much as our noses and mouths. + Visitors express greater sat- isfaction when they receive personalized service and feel they have interacted with trained tasting room staff. + Customer satisfaction is especially important in the East, where visitors who have a positive tasting room experience are more apt to pay a return visit. AT A GLANCE Sense and Nonsense The East leads research on how humans perceive aroma and flavor Photos: Thinkstock EAST COAST WATCH MARGUERITE THOMAS