Wine, music: What goes with Beethoven?

by Robin Garr | Oct. 4, 2024

The idea of pairing wine with food goes back to ancient times. But who ever thinks about pairing wine with music? As a matter of fact, some people do.

What do you think?

Do you ever match a specific wine with your choice of music, or vice-versa? Or do you even wonder if this question makes sense? Tell us about it in Substack Chat!

Cabernet Sauvignon with Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony? Rhine Riesling with Wagner’s Ring Cycle, or maybe a Loire Chenin Blanc with Taylor Swift’s latest hit?

If we consider that a good wine and good music can both spark joy and heighten our senses, then why can’t those two things work together? Who among us hasn’t considered a dinner playlist compatible with the evening’s main course and wine?

A bust of Beethoven with a glass of red wine, artificial intelligence image created by Google’s Gemini AI.

Perhaps surprisingly, there is some scientific grounding for this idea. “The effect of music on one’s psychological behavior has been studied over and over again throughout the scientific literature,” Becca Yeamans-Irwin wrote in a 2017 article in her blog, the Academic Wino. (There’s no link because the blog is gone; Yeamans-Irwin announced earlier this year that she was leaving the wine industry after 10 years “to follow other pursuits.”)

But the study she referenced, “Assessing the Role of Emotional Associations in Mediating Crossmodal Correspondences between Classical Music and Red Wine” in the journal Beverages remains online.

“The results revealed,” its abstract concluded in the cautious language of academic study, “that certain wine–music pairings were rated as being significantly better matches than others. … These results therefore support the view that wine–music associations are not arbitrary but can be explained, at least in part, by common emotional associations.”

I wrote about the study and the Academic Wino’s report at the time in Do you pair wine and music?, 30 Second Wine Advisor, August 11, 2017.

Let’s return to the topic today, thanks to a new study reported in another favorite blog, David Morrison’s The Wine Gourd, “The effect of background music on the taste of wine.” Morrison, an Australian-born wine blogger who lives in Sweden, specializes in the world of wine data and statistics. The Wine Gourd, as he puts it, aims to ferret out some interesting stuff and tell the world about it.

Rather than re-posting the entirety of Morrison’s good report, I’ll refer you to The Wine Gourd for the details. Skipping to the end, though, his conclusion bears repeating:

“Wine tasting is not just about the taste and smell sensations — it involves all of our minds, and the sensory inputs during the tasting experience. Professional tasters need to be aware of this; and we amateurs need to take it into account as well. Taste wine in the right atmosphere, and it will taste at its best.”

You can say that again! “Taste wine in the right atmosphere, and it will taste at its best.”

Today’s featured wine, Domaine Bousquet 2022 Tupungato Uco Valley Mendoza Malbec, is a hearty, enjoyable Argentine red that would surely go well with tango music, and it comes at a bargain price.

Today’s Tasting Report

Domaine Bousquet 2022 Tupungato Uco Valley Mendoza Malbec ($14.99)

The label of good-value Bousquet Mendoza Malbec carries an array of icons declaring it organically and sustainably grown, gluten-free, and vegan. It’s dark reddish-purple in color and offers pleasant, typically Malbec scents of dark cherries, red berries and plums, backed by a pleasant whiff of leather. Its dry and acidic flavor is focused on cherry-berry fruit; the wine sees no oak in fermentation or aging. At 14% alcohol there’s a touch of heat in the finish; the label’s advice to serve it at 65°F suggests that 15 minutes in the refrigerator before serving might burnish it smooth. U.S. importer: Origins Organic, Miami, Fla. (Oct. 3, 2024)

FOOD MATCH: The producer recommends serving it with pasta and red meat dishes, a combination that would be likely to happen in its native Argentina.

WHEN TO DRINK: Although some Malbecs merit cellaring, this simple, approachable, un-oaked rendition is probably best enjoyed over the next year or two. On the other hand, especially if you can get it at the lower end of its range, it would be easy to experiment with a few bottles.

VALUE:
I would have said this appealing Malbec was well worth my $15 retail price, yet that’s on the high end of its range: Wine-Searcher.com lists a $11 average U.S. retail, and many vendors offer it well under $10, at which point stocking up is a no-brainer.

WEB LINK:
Here’s the producer’s English-language tech sheet.

FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Bousquet Mendoza Malbec on Wine-Searcher.com.

Learn about the Tupungato region in Argentina’s Mendoza at this Wine-Searcher link.

Follow this Wine-Searcher link to read about Malbec, “Argentina’s Flagship Red Wine Grape,” and browse vendors and prices for a variety of Malbec-based wines.

Find the wines you want

Explore Wine-Searcher

Wine-Searcher.com is the place to go online if you want to find where to buy a particular wine that interests you. What’s more, Wine-Searcher.com offers so much more. It’s well worth a visit just to discover its many features, including its popular list of the world’s Top 10 Best Value Wines.

Good wines we’ve tried under $10.99!

Want tips to still more good, inexpensive wines? Here are Wine-Searcher links to vendors and prices for a bunch more wines for $10.99 or less that I’ve told you about in recent years. In some cases the prices may have risen over the $10.99 mark since I reviewed them, but they should still be excellent bargains. Please tell us about your favorites!

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