Wine and the Tongue

The human tongue is an amazing tool, especially when it comes to tasting wine. It can experience 5 components: sweet, sour, bitter, salt and umami (the succulentness of a wine). However, taste buds are varied. The average adult has between 2,000 and 10,000 taste buds. Folks who have more than 10,000 are considered "supertasters" because they experience more. Furthermore, taste buds are constantly changing. At any time we have buds that are developing, existing (the normal life cycle of a taste bud is about 10 – 14 days) and dying off. With this ever-changing landscape going in our mouths, it’s a wonder any of us can taste the exact same thing in the same wine at different times, let alone taste the same thing as someone else.