The Umami Taste: That Special Something That Will Make Your Tastings Unforgettable

If you thought the world of flavors was limited to 4 dimensions (sweet, salty, sour, and bitter), then you're ready for a discovery: umami taste. This 5th flavor has become essential in modern gastronomy. Largely popularized by Japanese cuisine, umami is also found in the world of wine. Let's see how this mysterious flavor makes its way into our glasses and plates to tickle our taste buds.

Umami: A Unique Flavor That Awakens Our Taste Buds

Where Does Umami Come From?

Umami, which means "savory" in Japanese, was discovered in 1908 by scientist Kikunae Ikeda. He realized that certain foods had a unique depth of flavor due to glutamate, an amino acid naturally present in many products. Umami is neither quite salty, sweet, sour, nor bitter. This meaty and mouth-watering flavor makes dishes more complete and balanced.

Some Examples of Umami Taste in Cooking

When we think of umami, Japanese cuisine often comes to mind. Ingredients like soy sauce, miso, and dashi broths (made with glutamate-rich kombu seaweed) overflow with umami thanks to fermentation. It's this powerful flavor that gives Japanese dishes their character.

Western cuisines, particularly Italian cuisine, are also full of umami flavor, especially in fermented and aged foods. Parmesan is the perfect example of an umami-rich food, as are ripe tomatoes, anchovies, and dry-cured ham. These ingredients work as flavor enhancers, elevating dishes without overloading them with salt or sugar.

Umami and Oenology: Which Wines are Rich in Umami Taste?

Indeed, even in wine, umami adds that little "something extra" in the mouth. Certain types of vinification particularly contribute to developing this flavor.

Orange wine: This wine, produced by macerating white grapes with their skins and seeds, often develops a pronounced umami flavor. This technique enhances the wine's richness and complexity, giving it a tannic structure and depth in the mouth reminiscent of umami.

Noble rot wines: Wines affected by the Botrytis Cinerea fungus, such as Sauternes or Sélection de Grains Nobles, benefit from a particular fermentation that intensifies aromas and produces glutamate, making these wines particularly flavorful and powerful in the mouth.

Certain winemaking methods, such as lees aging or oak barrel aging, enrich wines with glutamate and add unique savoriness:

Lees aging: This method involves leaving the wine in contact with dead yeasts, or lees, after fermentation. It creates a creamy texture and accentuates notes of hazelnut, bread, and yeast, with an umami effect that gives roundness and depth to the wine.

Oak barrel aging: Barrel aging also brings additional aromas to the wine, such as vanilla, spices, and a tannic structure that adds certain richness in the mouth, accentuating the umami effect.

Wine and Food Pairings Italian cuisine is particularly suited to understanding umami taste. The key ingredients of this gastronomy, like ripe tomatoes, parmesan, anchovies, prosciutto, or dried mushrooms, are true concentrates of this fifth flavor. This is what makes Italian dishes so comforting! So why not pair this umami richness with wines that offer the same depth?

Paso a Paso, 'Vino de Garage', Orange Field Blend 2022 & Parmigiana di Melanzane: This iconic dish, made with eggplant, tomatoes, and parmesan, is an umami festival. With an orange wine, whose tannic and structured notes balance well with the richness of cheese and tomatoes, you'll have a surprising and full-character pairing.

Vin Santo & Mushroom Risotto: A creamy risotto with porcini mushrooms – packed with umami flavor – pairs wonderfully with a noble rot wine, like Vin Santo. This type of wine brings a sweet roundness that contrasts and softens the mushrooms' savoriness, offering a delicious harmony. If you're looking to bring more freshness to this Italian cuisine classic, opt instead for a Pinot Noir from Burgundy or New Zealand, like the Nanny Goat Pinot Noir cuvée.

Vincent Girardin, Bourgogne Cuvée Saint Vincent Chardonnay 2019 & Spaghetti alla Carbonara: This simple and rich dish, made with guanciale and pecorino, pairs well with a wine aged on lees. The wine's creamy and slightly buttery texture complements the sweetness and intense flavor of the guanciale and cheese while bringing nice freshness.

For your next meal or aperitif, why not experiment with umami? Whether on your plate or in your glass, this flavor could surprise your palate and add a new dimension to your tasting