Taste Decoded is Ourglass's editorial investigation into wine psychology, science and culture. It features contributions from behavioural economist Rory Sutherland, neuroscientist Professor Charles Spence, photographer Rankin, and leading voices from London's wine and food scene. The series explores how taste works, how price and context shape wine perception, and why taste is a trainable skill, not innate talent.

Taste Decoded features Rory Sutherland (Vice Chairman, Ogilvy), Professor Charles Spence (Oxford University), Rankin (photographer), Michael Sager (Sager + Wilde), Tim Hayward (Financial Times), Amelia Singer (The Wine Show), and Max Halley (Max's Sandwich Shop). Each brings expertise in psychology, neuroscience, craft or wine culture.

Taste is trainable. While genetics influence sensitivity to certain compounds (like bitterness), palate development is primarily a learned skill. Professor Charles Spence's research shows that deliberate practice, pattern recognition and sensory training improve tasting ability. Your brain constructs flavour from memory, expectation and context – all of which you can develop intentionally.

It often doesn't. Rory Sutherland explains that price creates expectation, expectation shapes perception, and perception becomes reality. In blind tastings, expensive wines frequently score no better than mid-priced options. Understanding what makes wine cheap vs expensive reveals that price is psychological theatre – it changes how your brain processes flavour before you've even tasted the wine.

Context alters taste through multisensory perception. Professor Charles Spence's research demonstrates that music changes perceived acidity, lighting affects sweetness, glassware modifies structure, and temperature shifts flavour balance. Your brain constructs taste from environment, not just the liquid. How taste works explains why a wine that tastes sulky at home can taste electric on holiday – both experiences are real.

Traditional wine courses teach grape varieties, regions and how to taste wine. Taste Decoded explores why wine tastes the way it does – the psychology of price, the neuroscience of context, the cultural signals in wine choices. It's investigation, not instruction. Think of it as understanding the operating system rather than memorising the apps.

No. Taste Decoded assumes no prior wine knowledge. The investigations explore universal questions: Why does price influence taste? How does environment change flavour? What do wine choices reveal about identity? These are human psychology and sensory science questions that happen to use wine as the subject. Beginners and enthusiasts both gain insight.

Wine criticism evaluates specific bottles. Taste Decoded investigates how evaluation works. It examines the mechanisms behind taste perception – why blind tastings expose bias, how ritual enhances flavour, why context matters as much as terroir. The focus is metacognition: understanding how you taste, not what to taste. What makes extraordinary wine explores this distinction further.

No – it complements it. Understanding Bordeaux appellations is valuable. Understanding why Bordeaux First Growths taste better when you know their price is equally valuable. Taste Decoded doesn't replace traditional wine education; it reveals the psychological and sensory layers beneath it. Both types of knowledge make you a better wine drinker.

Because price is the largest single factor influencing wine perception – yet it tells you almost nothing about liquid quality. Rory Sutherland's investigation shows that understanding pricing psychology is more useful than memorising vintages. Once you recognise how price manipulates taste, you stop overpaying for status and start discovering affordable quality wines.

Wine culture has historically been exclusive – obscure terminology, intimidating ritual, price as proxy for quality. These barriers serve the industry, not the drinker. Democratising taste means making wine perception transparent: explaining how context, price and psychology shape flavour, so anyone can develop discernment without gatekeeping or snobbery. Five common wine myths debunked explores this further.

Taste Decoded is independent editorial – no commercial agenda. However, both share the same philosophy: taste is trainable, not innate. Ourglass subscriptions curate wine to expand your palate deliberately, applying the principles explored in Taste Decoded (context, variety, intentional development). The editorial informs the curation, but they remain separate.