To Örebro University

oru.seÖrebro University Publications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Performing taste: A narrative review of the sommelier's embodied, aesthetic expertise
Örebro University, School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts & Meal Science.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2435-3869
2025 (English)In: International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science, ISSN 1878-450X, E-ISSN 1878-4518, Vol. 41, article id 101252Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This narrative review explores the sommelier's role in contemporary gastronomy, focusing on how sensory training, aesthetic judgment, and interactive performance shape their expertise in high-end restaurant settings. Drawing on literature from gastronomy, cultural sociology, practice theory, and sensory science, this paper explores the sommelier's craft through three analytical lenses: embodied knowledge, aesthetic labour, and cultural mediation. I argue that sommeliers operate as cultural intermediaries who translate sensory knowledge into taste experiences through bodily practice, narrative performance, and symbolic judgment. Particular attention is given to food and wine pairing, a site where aesthetic legitimacy, cultural capital, and sensory logic intersect. The review highlights how sommelier practices are shaped by tradition and training, yet constantly renegotiated in light of sustainability concerns, technological innovation, and shifting consumer expectations. This synthesis offers new insights into the complexity of gastronomic professionalism and calls for greater interdisciplinary engagement with sommellerie as an evolving field of aesthetic, ethical, and embodied knowledge.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier, 2025. Vol. 41, article id 101252
Keywords [en]
Sommellerie, Taste, Food and beverage pairing, Practice theory, Sensory training
National Category
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified
Research subject
Culinary Arts and Meal Science
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-122721DOI: 10.1016/j.ijgfs.2025.101252ISI: 001542662000001OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-122721DiVA, id: diva2:1988825
Available from: 2025-08-13 Created: 2025-08-13 Last updated: 2025-08-13Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

Other links

Publisher's full text

Authority records

Scander, Henrik

Search in DiVA

By author/editor
Scander, Henrik
By organisation
School of Hospitality, Culinary Arts & Meal Science
In the same journal
International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science
Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

doi
urn-nbn

Altmetric score

doi
urn-nbn
Total: 28 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf