How Your Palate Changes (And Why That Wine You Hated 5 Years Ago Might Be Your New Favorite)
Here is something nobody told me when I started making wine in my garage 12 years ago: the wine you make today might taste completely different to you in a decade. Not because the wine changed – though it does – but because YOU changed.
I remember my first batch of Cabernet. I was convinced it was terrible – way too tannic, too dry, too wine-y, if that makes sense. My father-in-law tasted it and said it was excellent. I thought he was just being polite. Fast forward eight years – I found a forgotten bottle in the back of my cellar, and holy cow. It was genuinely good. But here is the thing: I do not think that bottle changed as much as I did.
Your Taste Buds Are Not Fixed (Thank Goodness)
So what is actually happening when your taste preferences shift? A few things, actually.
First off, you have got about 10,000 taste buds, and they are constantly regenerating – roughly every two weeks, the old ones die off and new ones take their place. As you age, this regeneration slows down, and you end up with fewer taste buds overall. This is why your grandmother could handle incredibly bitter coffee while you are still grimacing at anything darker than a medium roast.
But it goes deeper than just biology. Your brain is constantly learning what flavors mean. Every time you try something new, your brain files it away. That funky smell you could not stand in natural wine? After a few exposures, your brain might reclassify it from danger to interesting to actually, I kind of like that.
The Super-Taster Thing (Are You One?)
About one in four people are what scientists call super-tasters. These folks have way more taste buds packed onto their tongues, which sounds like a superpower until you realize it mostly means bitter things taste REALLY bitter to them.
I tested myself with those paper strips you can order online – turns out I am a medium-taster, which honestly explains a lot about my wine preferences. My wife is almost certainly a super-taster; she picks up bitterness in wines that taste perfectly smooth to me. We have learned to trust each other assessments instead of arguing about who is right.
The weird part? Super-tasters often have a harder time enjoying complex wines because the flavors can be overwhelming. Meanwhile, non-tasters (the other 25 percent of people) might seek out bolder wines because they need more intensity to register the same experience. Neither is better or worse – just different equipment.
How Culture Messes With Your Taste
I grew up in the Midwest eating meat and potatoes. My first encounter with umami-forward cuisine was at age 25, and I genuinely did not understand what I was tasting. It took years of exposure before my brain could appreciate miso, fish sauce, and yes – aged wines with that savory, almost meaty quality.
This is why wine regions develop their own styles that locals adore but outsiders find strange. The Jura oxidative whites? Locals grow up with them. The rest of us need time to get there.
I have been forcing myself to drink wines I do not immediately love, and honestly? It works. That earthy Nebbiolo I could not stand three years ago is now something I actively seek out. Sometimes your palate needs a push.
Smell Is Doing Most of the Work (Sorry, Tongue)
Here is the thing that blew my mind when I really got into winemaking: your tongue can only detect five basic tastes. Five! Sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami. That is it.
So where is all that cherry and tobacco with hints of wet stone coming from? Your nose. About 80 percent of what you perceive as flavor is actually smell. This is why wine tastes like nothing when you have a cold.
I have started doing this thing at tastings where I pinch my nose and take a sip, then release and take another. The difference is shocking every time. Try it with your next glass – you will understand exactly what I mean.
Memory Makes Everything Weird
My grandfather made wine in his basement. Terrible wine, objectively. But every time I smell slightly oxidized wine, I am transported back to being eight years old in that damp basement, watching him rack wine from one carboy to another. That smell hits differently for me than it does for you.
This is why arguing about wine is pointless. We are not actually tasting the same thing – we are tasting the wine plus every association our brains have built around similar flavors. Your perfect Chardonnay might remind you of a great vacation. My perfect Chardonnay might be whatever is least like what my grandfather made.
How to Actually Train Your Palate
After years of making wine and judging amateur competitions, here is what I have learned about developing your taste:
Pay attention. Not in a precious, pretentious way – just actually think about what you are drinking instead of washing down your dinner with it. What does it remind you of? What do you not like about it?
Take notes. I know, I know – seems excessive. But I look back at my tasting notes from 2015 and barely recognize my own opinions. Writing forces you to articulate what you are experiencing, which makes you better at perceiving it.
Try things you think you will hate. I was convinced I hated Riesling for years. Turns out I had just had bad Riesling. A good German Spatlese rewired my brain.
Taste blind when you can. Your expectations massively influence what you taste. That expensive bottle you bought on vacation? Might not hold up when you do not know it is expensive. That cheap table wine? Might surprise you.
Texture Matters More Than You Think
When I started making wine, I was obsessed with flavor. What grape variety? What fermentation temperature? Oak or no oak? But the wines I actually reach for most often? They are about texture.
A creamy Chardonnay hits different than a lean one. A tannic Cab feels different in your mouth than a silky Merlot. Sometimes the best wine for a meal is not about flavor matching at all – it is about whether you want something that coats your palate or cuts through it.
I made a Viognier last year that I was disappointed in – the flavor was more subtle than I wanted. But the texture was incredible, this almost oily richness that made it perfect with grilled fish. Sometimes I was just measuring the wrong thing.
The Wine Pairing Myth (Sort Of)
Look, I am not saying wine pairing is fake. It is not. But I am saying it is less scientific and more personal than the sommelier industrial complex wants you to believe.
The classic rules – red with meat, white with fish, sweet with dessert – exist for a reason. They work more often than not. But I have had experiences that broke every rule: a powerful Zinfandel with spicy Thai that should not have worked but absolutely did. A crisp Chablis with steak that paired beautifully because of a killer lemon butter sauce.
My advice? Use the rules as starting points, then trust yourself. If you like it, it works. Period.
Your Palate Is a Moving Target
The biggest lesson from all this? Do not be too attached to your current preferences. What you love today might bore you in five years. What you hate now might become your obsession.
I keep a try again list of wines and styles I have written off. Once a year or so, I revisit them. About half the time, I still do not like them. But that other half? That is where the good stuff happens. That is how I discovered I actually love orange wine, despite thinking it was a scam for years.
Your palate is just a lens, and that lens keeps changing. The fun part is paying attention to the changes.
