Fattiness
SENSORY COMPONENT: FAT
No offense to you but even if your best friend is wine, the feeling isn’t mutual, because wines BEST friend is without a doubt Fat! Fattiness reduces the perception of tannin, acidity, and bitterness, thus enhancing the perception of fruit, and making the wine fell smooth and lovely.
Fattiness, as with spiciness of course isn’t a flavor but rather a sensory part of what we eat. Oh fantastic fat! Butter, oil, cheese, cream, did I mention butter. Adding any of these fatty components to a pairing will surely let the wine show it’s best. Only make sure to avoid cheeses with high bitterness and/or umami content, as these will often add metallic flavors in combination with the wine. Blue cheeses are the most difficult as they are speckled with little blue umami bombs (the mold itself), and red-rind cheese are at times extremely bitter and will actually make the wine more bitter.