Enjoying the perfect glass of wine doesn’t require you to shell out a lot of money on the most expensive bottle you can find.

Instead, the results of the world’s largest multisensory wine experiment reveal that a simple change in colour and sound can affect the taste of wine by nearly 10 per cent.

Listening to supposedly ‘sweet’ and ‘sour’ music in a room with red or green lighting can significantly alter the taste of a glass of wine, according to the research.

The full findings, which have been submitted to a scientific journal for publication, suggest red light and ‘sweet’ music is the ideal combination, increasing enjoyment by as much as nine per cent.

Green light and ‘sour’ music increased freshness and reduced intensity by 14 per cent.

‘It’s the same as someone moving from being ambivalent about the taste of something to really liking it,’ said Professor of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University Charles Spence.
‘And, with this experiment, that shift happened in seconds.’