A new study looks at how two different mental approaches, mindfulness and thought suppression, affect the ability to smell and assess wines. Mindfulness, which involves staying present and accepting your feelings and sensations without judgment, helped people better notice the intensity of smells in the wines. However, it made them less likely to judge whether a wine smelled pleasant or unpleasant. On the other hand, thought suppression, where you try to push away your emotions, reduced people’s overall ability to identify smells in the wine.
For anyone tasting wine, this means that being mindful, focusing calmly on the smells and sensations in the moment, can help you pick out subtle differences in aroma. This approach might be especially useful for professionals, like sommeliers, who need to evaluate wines in detail. However, mindfulness might make you less focused on whether you personally enjoy the wine. Trying to block out your emotions, on the other hand, might make it harder to fully engage your senses and appreciate the wine.
So, if you’re tasting wine, taking a moment to relax and focus without overthinking could enhance your ability to notice the finer details of what you’re smelling.
