Don’t be surprised that I am dedicating this winemaker’s corner to the subject of taste
and aroma, since they are important parts of the enjoyment of wine. But I also have an
ulterior motive for elaborating on umami, the fifth taste added in 2008 to the four tastes
that have been known to be perceived by the tongue for hundreds of years
Human beings possess five basic senses: Sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell. While
all of our senses interact together, our senses of taste and smell are integrated. When
we put something into our mouth, we use our senses of taste and smell simultaneously,
and the perceived flavor is a result of an interaction between these two senses. Is there
a difference between taste and flavor? Definitely! A taste is based on a single
sensation, perceived by receptors that we have on our tongue, whereas a flavor is a
result of multiple sensations experienced by an interaction between our senses of taste
and smell. If we didn’t have the sense of smell we would not be able to tell the
difference between an apple and a peach, unless we used our sense of sight.
Interesting!
Our sense of taste can identify 5 basic tastes: salty, sour, bitter, sweet and umami.
Until about 15 years ago the scientific community did not recognize umami as a basic
taste even though it was discovered in 1908 by Dr. Kikunae Ikeda from the Tokyo
Imperial University. Dr. Ikeda was intrigued by the distinctive flavor of “Dashi”, a broth
used in Japanese cooking. He was convinced that the human tongue must have
receptors that can detect this taste like it can the other 4 basic tastes. He named this
taste Umami which is derived from the Japanese word umai. Umai means delicious,
and the word mi means “essence” or “taste”. Put together: delicious taste.
Dr. Ikeda did not stop at that. He continued his investigations and was able to identify
the source of this peculiar savory taste that lingered on the tongue. He discovered that
the umami flavor was coming from glutamic acid, one of 20 amino acids that are the
components of proteins. He also noticed that the umami flavor became more intense
when he used the sodium salt of glutamic acid known as mono-sodium glutamate, or
MSG. Since most foods, including vegetables and meats, contain proteins, when they
break down, the glutamic acid gets liberated, imparting the characteristic flavor of
umami.
Here comes the secret. We are in the process of releasing a line of wines that we
created for pairing with sushi. We call this new line Hikaru – the sushi wine. Hikaru
means “to shine” in Japanese. We created Hikaru to hold sushi in the limelight and
enhance the pleasure of eating sushi. Sivan and I embarked on this project together
because we share a deep passion for sushi.
The principal taste that dominates sushi is umami. Thus, we made a special effort to
make Hikaru pair well with umami tastes. These wines have the perfect flavor profile to
complement the umami flavors, especially fish. We have 3 wines in this line: A
Sauvignon Blanc, a Chilled Red Wine Blend, and a Sparkling Rose. All three are
aromatic wines, with a light to medium body, dry and crisp, with structured acidity, some
with fruity flavors and some with herbal and earthy flavors. They are all complementary
and in perfect harmony with sushi flavors. It is recommended that they be consumed
chilled.
Three Cheers to “Hikary – the Sushi Wine”.
Chaim,
September 2022