Susan R Lin MW performing in NYC.
Susan R Lin MW performing in NYC.
(Image credit: Gabi Porter)

You love wine. You love music. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the perfect playlist for what’s in your glass?

You might ask, how could any musical recommendation be anything other than personal and subjective?

Read Susan R Lin MW’s research on music and wine

Why music and wine? There is nothing like the transporting magical experience of listening to music that resonates deeply.

Wait, there is! You know when it happens: You taste a wine and something happens within you. A strong feeling, a long ago memory, something you can’t quite name surfaces. Suddenly you are on a journey to the past. It is visceral and emotional.

Music is my constant. Since my childhood I listened, I trained, I performed. I still do. Wine fulfils a similar passion, academically and spiritually. Their synergies and wonderful sensorial differences led me to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in piano and musicology, as well as the Master of Wine.

Naturally I had to explore any effects of music on the sensory experience of wine tasting for my Master of Wine Research Paper. What I share with you here is based on my own research, combined with the body of research from other academics.

A quick primer: Music comprises elements, and these were found to have a statistically significant effect on taste perception: pitch (high-low), tempo (fast-slow), timbre (sharp-round) and articulation (dynamic-smooth).

Similarly, wine has sensory characteristics: acidity or freshness, fruitiness, richness, complexity, and for sparkling wines, effervescence.

Despite music and wine being disparate sensory realms, their effects can be strikingly similar.

We often characterise both music and wine with such words as delicate, powerful, vibrant and so on. The combination of these components lend music and wine their overall feel and emotional potential.

Susan R Lin MW performing at Vintners' Hall for the Institute of Masters of Wine. Credit: Susan R Lin MW

Susan R Lin MW performing at Vintners’ Hall for the Institute of Masters of Wine.
(Image credit: Susan R Lin MW)

The wine playlists: six to try

Research shows that we make intuitive associations between musical elements and taste sense – for instance, high pitch associates with acidity; low pitch can evoke bitterness. This is an oversimplification, of course, and the myriad combinations of elements make for fascinating research.

Based on the research – and a convivial wink from yours truly – here are six playlists to jumpstart your own wine and music journey, each tailored to complement a different style of wine.

Music for light whites

Key features: Freshness, fruitiness, zestiness, delicacy

Musical elements to enhance the tasting experience: High pitch, mid-fast tempo, bright timbre, dynamic articulation; gentle, exciting character.

Click to listen – my starter playlist on YouTube:

  • Celtic and/or Chinese harp and flute music
  • Pharrell Williams: Happy
  • Taylor Swift: Shake It Off
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Piano Concerto No 23, I Allegro

Music for rich whites

Key features: Oak/baking spices, broad/lush, creamy/textural

Musical elements: Lower pitch, slower tempo, rounder timbre, smoother articulation; layered textures, more powerful yet calm character.

Click to listen – my starter playlist:

  • Carlos Santana: Samba Pa Ti
  • Orville Peck: Daytona Sand
  • Fujii Kaze: Garden
  • Claude Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun

Music for light reds

Key features: Fresh, fruity, bright, delicate floral, subtle earth notes

Musical elements: Mid-high pitch, mid-fast tempo, bright timbre, dynamic articulation; gentle, exciting character

Click to listen – my starter playlist:

  • Toshiki Kadomatsu: If You (Wanna Dance Tonight)
  • Ed Sheeran: Shape of You
  • The Weeknd: Out of Time
  • Johann Sebastian Bach: Keyboard Concerto No 4, 1st Movement

Music for rich reds

Key features: Texture (tannin shape), oak, intensity of fruit/earth notes, richness, complexity, density

Musical elements: Lower pitch, slower, stately tempo, rich timbre, smoother articulation, layered textures, powerful + calm or powerful + exciting

Click to listen – my starter playlist:

  • The Doors: Riders on the Storm
  • The Beatles: I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
  • Astor Piazzolla: Libertango
  • Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No 7, 2nd Movement

Music for sparkling wines

Key features: Effervescence, and depending on style (e.g. Prosecco versus a youthful Brut non-vintage Franciacorta versus a vintage Champagne) we use musical elements as levers to highlight the appropriate sensory characteristics in the wine.

Click to listen – my starter playlist for lighter sparkling wines:

  • Any well-produced Eurodance or up-tempo 90s/00s pop!
  • Earth, Wind, & Fire: September
  • Dave Brubeck: Someday My Prince Will Come
  • Camille Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals, Finale

Click to listen – my starter playlist for richer, vintage-style sparkling wines:

  • Bruno Mars: That’s What I Like
  • David Guetta & Sia: Beautiful People
  • Frédéric Chopin: Piano Concerto No1, 3rd Movement
  • Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto, 3rd Movement

Given the incredible wealth of music available, it was challenging to pare the lists down to a few selections – nonetheless, these lists demonstrate the power of different combinations of elements and character to bring a similar effect across varied musical genres.

Hopefully this has your creative juices flowing and you’ll be inspired to explore further!

Let your senses and emotions guide you. Allow yourself to sink into the feelings you experience. Be transported to someplace familiar – and perhaps to someplace new. Go forth and create your own music and wine adventure.

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Susan Lin MW
Susan Lin MW
Susan R Lin is a Master of Wine and a Master of Fine Arts in Classical Piano and Musicology. She creates memorable experiences through music and wine. Susan approaches her craft through an interdisciplinary lens, forged by her background as a high tech program manager, performing arts program developer, and as a classical pianist and dancer.