Sommelier Says Water Before Wine Blocks True Flavor Perception

Sipping water before or between sips of wine feels like the obvious move to cleanse your palate. But a sommelier warns that this habit could actually block you from tasting the glass as intended. Sarah Looper, a wine educator based in New York, told Fox News Digital that anything entering your mouth before the first sip will change its true character.

"To judge a wine accurately, Looper recommends giving it a few tastes." The initial sip sets the tone for everything else. It is also when you should smell the liquid. "Because we smell better with our mouths," she explained, "if we put those aromatic molecules on our mouth first, we'll actually smell the wine better when it comes to our second sip, because you're adapting your palate to what the wine really is."

This process relies on retronasal olfaction. Aromas travel from the back of the throat up to the nose, shaping how we perceive flavor. Looper noted that everyone's palate differs due to things like oral pH and taste sensitivity. What works for one person might not work for another.

She pointed out how extreme flavors can wreck your sense of taste. "What you put on your palate, whether it's a sugary and highly acidic and effervescent Coca-Cola, or a sip of something like an Old-Fashioned that's really alcoholic and really sweet and woody, that will totally jack your palate," she said. You cannot jump from that intensity straight into wine and expect your brain to evaluate it properly.

"It's not so much about right or wrong," Looper emphasized. "It's about, what do you like? What do you enjoy? What tastes good to you?" The solution isn't water; it is patience. "You have to give yourself a little bit of time and then take a first sip of that wine, adapt your brain to what you're tasting and then take a second sip," she said. That second sip, and even the third one, locks the experience into your mind and mouth so you understand what the wine is supposed to be.

Wine changes after it hits the air. Food & Wine reported that flavors evolve as the liquid interacts with oxygen, meaning a glass can taste different just minutes after being poured. On days when Looper tastes professionally, she follows a strict routine similar to an athlete preparing for a game. "I will brush my teeth, but early, but then I will have a black coffee early to reset my palate," she said. After that, she puts nothing else in her mouth except small sips of water on the way to the venue.

Her advice does not mean you should stop drinking water or stay dry. Rather, she prefers letting her palate settle before judging a bottle instead of relying on an immediate drink to reset it. It is easy to get caught up in rigid tasting rules and pairing charts. A simple fix is to smell the wine first, take a small sip, let it coat your tongue, and then pause before taking a second one to see how things develop.

Take those rules and bend them a little bit," she suggested. "See if an alternative [pairing] works. Maybe you'll love it.