Umami Provides a Savory Element of Taste in Both Food & Wine

The basic elements of taste in food – sweet, sour, salty and bitter – are familiar to most everyone, but did you know there’s a fifth element as well?

Discovered by a Japanese scientist, umami (oo-MAH-mee) is a taste sensation that’s best described as meaty or savory and is produced by several amino acids. You can experience umami in foods such as anchovies, mushrooms, aged cheeses and, if you like to go that route, foods prepared with MSG.

Factoring the umami element into the foods we serve can be helpful in selecting a wine to go with them. This is because wines can also display an umami, or savory characteristic, which enables them to better complement and enhance the flavors of similar foods.

Although white wines really don’t fall into the savory category, several red wines do, including sangiovese, tempranillo, cabernet sauvignon and especially pinot noir. This can be particularly useful when trying to serve a food that ordinarily doesn’t pair well with a red wine.

For example, vegetarian dishes that usually fair better with white wines can be enhanced with intensely flavored mushrooms and then served with a pinot noir. A Caesar salad, normally reserved for a chardonnay, can be a nice complement to a lighter style sangiovese after you toss in a few anchovy filets.

Just keep in mind that not all red wines display the umami element of taste. So when in doubt, read the wine label to look for clues from the winemaker on qualities the wine displays, such as savory or earthy rather than overly fruity.

If the label is non-descript, do the next best thing – buy it and try it and then if you experience umami you’ll have a much better idea of what foods to serve with the wine at a future meal.