Ever have a mild panic attack when you’re presented with a mammoth selection of wine? If you are not a wine connoisseur, you probably had an instance or two when you looked up reviews online or sheepishly asked your server for a recommendation. But crowd-sourcing wine ratings is like asking a stranger what type of music or art you’d like. It’s a complex beverage with thousands of different kinds, and individual preference vary with culture, geography, personality, and genetics. That’s right. Genetics. Wine preferences among people vary vastly based on their unique genetic makeup. The same wine can very much taste differently depending on which version of gene they have.

Wine Characteristics

There are over thousands of different types and flavors, but all wine can be described with 5 basic taste characteristics listed below:

1. Sweetness: Or “dryness,” this is the sweet sensation due to the sugar content in the wine. This can be the sweetness of the fruit, the actual sugar content, or the alcohol itself since alcohol is a sweet liquid.
2. Acidity: The sour, tart, or zesty flavor in a food or beverage. As grapes ripen the amount of acidity goes down. The acidity of wine feels tart, fresh, and tingly.
3. Tannin: The source of bitterness in wine. This flavor comes from the phenolic compounds in the skin and seeds of grapes and tend to have a drying feeling in your mouth.
4. Fruit: A distinguishing feature of wine is the main fruit or floral flavor.
5. Body: The viscosity, or the weight, of the wine, which is affected by alcohol content. Light bodied wines are usually more watery, thin, and have lower alcohol content.  Medium to full-bodied wines are thicker, more rich in flavor, and usually have higher alcohol content.

Understanding these 5 tastes allows you to fine tune your sensory abilities and find favorites easily. It allows you to categorize, distinguish and recognize wine tastes. However, even if you don’t speak ‘sommelier’, your genes got you covered when it comes to finding the best drink for you.

Can your DNA determine your wine preference?

Taste preferences are partly genetically determined. While most of us can taste and experience those 5 characteristics, the degree of liking for those tastes inherently varies individually. Luckily, there are known genetic markers that measure preference for each of those tastes. Your DNA will let you know exactly what type and characteristic of wine your taste buds prefer. With this information, you will never have to guess your favorites or play Russian roulette with wine ever again.