I thought I liked it for its refreshing, seafood-friendly qualities, but apparently my predisposition for white wine could be due to my genes. That's according to some preliminary findings from two Italian docutors, Dr Nicola Pirastu and Dr Antonietta Robino, as reported on Science Codex. The researchers fond 17 independent genes related to food preference, such as: artichokes, bacon, coffee, chicory, dark chocolate, blue cheese, ice cream, liver, oil or butter on bread, orange juice, plain yogurt, white wine and mushrooms. "Surprisingly, none of the genes thus identified belonged to the category of taste or smell receptors."
What's the white wine gene you may be carrying? "For example," Dr Pirastu begins, "we found a strong correlation between the HLA-DOA gene and white wine liking, but we have no idea which of the characteristics of white wine this gene influences."
Is it possible to like a wine regardless of its taste or smell, but solely because you are responding to a genetically-fueled cue?
