Some Hendrix or Mozart with your Cabernet sir?

LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - Research by a Chilean wine producer and a Scottish university has revealed a world scientific first - music has a direct impact on taste.

Research carried out by the Department of Applied Psychology at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh has shown that the style of music we listen to while drinking wine affects how the wine actually tastes to us.

Chilean winemaker Aurelio Montes plays monastic chants to his maturing wines, convinced that the gentle vibrations improve the quality and energy of the wine behind the Montes label.

His Feng Shui-designed barrel room is even built in the form of an amphitheatre, allowing each barrel of wine the optimum musical experience.

"I've always believed that playing Gregorian chants aids in the maturation of our wines," Montes said. "It was therefore a natural extension to link with Heriot Watt and to scientifically determine the impact that music has on how wine tastes."

The research, conducted by Professor Adrian North, head of Applied Psychology at Heriot Watt, is based on the cognitive priming theory. When a particular style of music is heard, it stimulates or 'primes' specific areas in the brain.

When wine is tasted, these areas of the brain are already active and prime us to taste the wine in a corresponding way.

"I was intrigued by Montes' approach of incorporating music in the winemaking process, and was keen to explore whether music could actually influence the taste of their wines," North said.

"This is the first time it has been scientifically proven that music can affect perception in other senses and change the way wine tastes."