It’s a familiar scenario. You get back from holiday clutching bottles of wine that tasted delicious in a Tuscan vineyard only to find the flavour has mysteriously vanished.

Now researchers at Oxford University believe they know why.

Wine actually tastes different depending on the conditions in which it is drunk, with light and sound impacting on how fresh, fruity, bitter or acidic the drink is perceived.

Next month Charles Spence, professor of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University, will test the theory in the biggest multi-sensory experiment even conducted into the psychology of drinking wine.

Thousands of people attending the Streets of Spain festival on London’s Southbank, will be invited to step into his ‘Colour Lab’ and asked to rate how wine tastes depending on light and music.