Wine tasters’ sensory response to delicate and robust flower arrangements

Abstract

The arrangements of flowers and wine counterparts are inextricably linked. Whether a fundamental aspect of tablescaping or acolytes to broader entertainment rituals, they have an interlaced history since ancient times. The aim of this contribution is twofold: first, we seek to understand how the colour composition pattern of flower arrangements (e.g., value, saturation, and temperature) influence the subjects' perception of flower arrangements' delicacy or robustness. Second, we aim to verify the influence of visually delicate and robust flower arrangements on individual judgment of wines. Forty-one subjects evaluated the delicacy and robustness of eight flower arrangements with different colour composition patterns in an online environment. Results showed that analogous flower arrangements that combined flowers with high value, low saturation, and cool temperature were perceived as more delicate than the analogous flower arrangements that combined flowers with low value, high saturation, and warm temperature. The latter were perceived as more robust. Subsequently, sensory descriptions and hedonic judgments of wines were investigated during subjects' exposure to three different conditions: the presence of delicate, robust, or totally absent flower arrangements. In each condition, two wines were tasted blind: a wine previously defined as delicate – a Pinot Noir from Australia, and a wine known for its robust character – a Tannat from Uruguay. Results showed that both wines were perceived as being more delicate when tasted in presence of the ‘delicate’ flower arrangement (compared to ‘robust’ or ‘no’ arrangements). There was, however, no interaction effect between type of wine and flower arrangement. Despite this lack of interaction, Tannat wines were clustered together with Pinot Noir wines, when tasted in the presence of the delicate flower arrangement and were described as more delicate than when the same wine was tasted in the control room (no flowers present), suggesting a visual-mouthfeel cross modality effect. The results of this investigation could help event organisers (i.e., weddings and the entertainment-related sector), as well as wine lovers in general, consider the style of wines and how they combined with the colour characteristics of flower arrangements during tablescaping.