Why Barolo’s the best wine for extroverts – but sensible souls should stick to Shiraz!

As experts say personality matters more than your palate...

WheTher it’s the aroma of freshly cut grass, or the flavour of bramble fruits, we all assume our wine choices are influenced by a keen sense of smell and our sophisticated taste buds.

But a new study suggests your favourite tipple could actually be dictated by your personality. in an experiment for the journal Food Quality and Preference, test cases first took a questionnaire to measure their levels of the so-called Big Five character traits: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, emotional stability and openness.

The study participants then tasted 258 different wines (where do we sign up?) and noted their preferences, which took in degrees of alcohol, acidity, sweetness, body, tannin, flavour, persistence and complexity of aroma.

Fascinatingly, researchers found significant links between the candidates’ personality traits and the characteristics of the bottles they preferred.

For example, extroverts — the more talkative, enthusiastic drinkers — chose wines with more acidity and tannin.

agreeable participants professed to like their wines with stronger alcohol and aromas, but not so much cheeksucking acidity.

and as for the conscientious types? They were happy to drink anything.

There was no explanation from the research as to why such results might be the case… but who’s quibbling when there’s an opportunity to try wines you’re programmed to fall in love with.

So, based on your key personality trait, which wines should you be putting in your glass? Wine expert HELEN MCGINN rounds up a selection of styles to pick from…

IF YOU ARE… EXTROVERTED

GreGariouS, confident drinkers gravitate towards tipples with plenty of tannin and acidity. This puts you firmly in the red wine camp (white wine doesn’t really have detectable tannins as they’re usually fermented without grape skins, where tannins are found). Styles like Chianti and the more expensive Barolo from italy will hit the spot.

TRY: Lidl Chianti Riserva, £6.49 (lidl.co.uk)

The grape behind Chianti, Tuscany’s most famous red wine, is Sangiovese. it produces red wines with generous amounts of acidity and tannin so you get grip from the tannins and freshness from the acidity. Flavour-wise, think red cherries and a hint of dried herbs. TRY: Langhe Nebbiolo, £7.49 (lidl.co.uk)

Made from Piedmont’s star grape Nebbiolo, think of this as a baby Barolo. usually a little softer and juicier in style but still with that cherry fruit character with firm tannins. a brilliant food wine, and less than half the price of Barolo!

IF YOU ARE... AGREEABLE

ThoSe who happily forfeit their own comfort to fit in with others prefer aromas and alcohol, but are not so keen on acidity. Go for mellow wines with warm flavours like ripe, lightly oaked Chardonnay or juicy reds made from the Malbec or Merlot grape.

TRY: Journey’s End Honeycomb Chardonnay, £9.50 (ocado.com) ThiS rich and toasty Chardonnay is from Journey’s end in South africa’s Western Cape. The grapes are hand-harvested early in the morning to make sure all the fruit flavours are preserved and some of the wine is fermented in barrels adding a little more oomph.

TRY: Finca Las Moras Barrel Select Malbec, £8 (coop.co.uk)

FaBulouSly mellow Malbec from its second home, argentina (the grape originally came from France). ripe and round with black plum fruits and a touch of spice from a year spent ageing in French and american oak barrels, perfect with a bowl of chilli.

IF YOU ARE... CONSCIENTIOUS

STraNGely, this particular group is the most easily pleased. Basically, they’ll drink anything. you could stick with crowdpleasers like easy-drinking Pinot Grigio or juicy, medium-bodied Pinot Noir wines. but i’d urge you to try something a little different. TRY: Taste The Difference Grenache Gris, £7 (sainsburys.co.uk)

The Grenache grape comes in three colours – Noir, Blanc and Gris. you don’t see this particular one, the Gris, often made as a single variety wine but when done well, it’s refreshingly good. This one’s full of ripe stone fruit flavours — peach and apricots — with a gentle touch of creaminess.

TRY: Extra Special

Douro, £6.75 (groceries.asda.com)

The douro region is best known for producing Portugal’s famous fortified wine but there are plenty of brilliant wines made here using the same grapes found in port. This one’s devilishly juicy with buckets of bramble fruit flavours. Serve with hearty stews or sausages and mash.

IF YOU ARE... EMOTIONALLY STABLE

While the rest of us indulge our neuroses with moods as changeable as the spring weather, you’re the calm in a stormy sea.

as such, you like plenty going on in your glass with a preference for full-bodied wines with lots of tannin, flavour and aroma. in which case, head straight to Shiraz where the wines are full of personality.

TRY: Wynns Coonawarra Estate Shiraz, mix six price £11.99 (majestic.co.uk)

ThiS 100 per cent Shiraz is made by a legendary estate in South australia’s Coonawarra region. Big, bold and intense, this wine is aged for a year in French oak barrels, and is a perfect match for beef wellington, too.

TRY: Tesco Finest Cotes Du Rhone Villages, £8 (tesco.com) a GorGeouS rhone red made from a classic blend of Grenache and Syrah grapes. Full of lovely ripe bramble fruit flavours with a touch of spice and earthiness, this is just the ticket when there’s hearty fullflavoured food on the table.

IF YOU ARE... OPEN-MINDED

ThiS group of wine lovers want long flavours, or ‘finish’ to use wine speak, from their wines, ideally with lots of teeth-coating tannins too. For whites, go for sparkling wines like champagne, and for a tannic fix go for reds like Cabernet Sauvignon or Claret. TRY: Tesco Finest Saint Emilion Grand Cru, £17 (tesco.com) ThiS is a classic Bordeaux blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes grown on Bordeaux’s right bank. The wines from this particular region are famed for their considerable depth and structure and their long flavours on the finish. TRY: Ayala Brut Majeur NV, £27.99 (waitrose.com)

ThiS Chardonnay- dominant champagne is so pure and elegant with flavours that go on forever, it’s bound to tickle the taste buds. Made from a blend of more than 70 different crus (vineyards), it’s aged for three years, adding a gorgeous toasty touch. really smart for the money, serve this with canapes. ■ Helen’s book, The Knackered Mother’s

Wine Guide, is out now.