wine tasting

Unlike food — which gives us sensory cues like crunchy and hot, as well as tasting, say, salty — with wine, it's all about tiny differences in taste and smell. The danger is in getting too poetic.

Savoring the flavor of wine activates more gray matter than solving a complex math problem, according to neuroscientist Gordon Shepherd. His new book, Neurenology, explores your brain on wine.