THE "SOUND SOMMELIER": “SOMMELIER WHO RESEARCHES THE RIGHT SOUNDS TO MAKE WINE TASTING EVEN MORE PLEASANT”. WINENEWS INTERVIEWED PAOLO SCARPELLINI: "WINE IS A MATTER OF SENSES, INCLUDING THE SENSE OF HEARING”.

Pairing a wine with a song or melody is something that sooner or later, every wine aficionado has tried at least once. But now there are professional sommeliers that search for the perfect music to enhance a wine tasting experience, by involving the sense of hearing. This is the case of Paolo Scarpellini, journalist as well as music and wine expert who created the "sound sommelier".

“The sound sommelier”, he explained to WineNews, “is someone who, just like the sommelier pairs wines with dishes, must find the right sound, the right notes that can enhance and make the wine experience more pleasant, be it a tasting, a lunch or a dinner. It is a “celebrative” pairing”, said Scarpellini, “which aims to stimulate the neurons responsible for recognizing pleasure not only of smell and taste, but also hearing, as the taste experience par excellence should be one that involves all the senses, even hearing, which in restaurants and wine tastings is not usually taken much into account”.

The idea is that even the least expert in wine and music, given a custom made tool, will have the opportunity to fully enjoy a wine, pairing the music that best suits it, but not only.
“There are many variations to consider. The age of the taster, his sensitivity and musical background, his culture, his nationality, the location and so on, all of which would be interesting to know beforehand in order to arrive at a harmonious set of olfactory, gustatory and auditory senses. In my experience, I have found that there are certain notes and musical genres that may well make the taste experience more pleasant, amplifying the aromas that involve the nose, and then the palate, with a series of songs selected from all genres, rhythms and eras, from classical to jazz, soul, blues, electronic and so on".

It is hard to give examples because each story is different and unique.
“Generally speaking, for an easy summery and fresh wine, drinking it at table by the sea -perhaps a Vermentino, I would pair it with pop, rhythmic music for an easy, light moment.
Far from the case of meditation wine; textured, aged, of noble lineage and varieties, tasted in the comfort of one’s home or at the restaurant in the smoking-room with dimmed lighting, soft music, perhaps classic, Venetian Baroque music, or one of the "Four Seasons" by Vivaldi, for example.

Different still”, says Scarpellini, “is to think about the kind of music to pair for a technical tasting in an environment designed for this purpose, respecting its canons; so jazz, instrumental or vocal, depending on the acoustics, with something very delicate like Billie Holiday. Another might be to talk about terroir and match it with music that has the same origin as the wine, to immerse the taster even more into the territory".