We drink with our eyes first: The web of sensory perceptions, aesthetic experiences and mixed imagery in wine reviews

This chapter analyzes the language resources that writers have at their disposal to describe their experience of the web of sensory perceptions that are evoked in the wine tasting practice. The task of the writer is to provide a mental understanding of the sensations as well as a prehension of the experiences. We show that this involves the weaving together of the senses, starting with the sight of the wine followed by a description that is iconic with the wine tasting procedure. The descriptors are systematically used cross-modally both through ontological cross-overs and through longer stretches of mixed imagery. We also show how the socio-cultural context of wine consumption correlates with the types of imagery used in wine descriptions.