We’re stoked to be sharing our dual professional passions with everyone: science and wine. We hope this section of the blog, Wineoyama, will spark some good discussion time between ourselves and any others who would like to join us in the wine tasting and conversation.

In general terms, every wine has a style, context, and goal. To define a wine’s quality can be quite a controversial endeavor—not so distant from attempting to define religion, or art. As with the broader topics in science, an experience can be best explained and proven by presenting quantitative results on an objective basis. Of course, it cannot be ignored that wine, and the overall experience of a wine, is a purely subjective sensory experience; a convergence of appropriate time, place, state of the individual, and preconceived notions about the wine itself. In other words, it’s the empirical data that is all that really matters; experiences driven by visual, olfactory, and organoleptic stimulus playing on any one person's recognition, perception, and rejection thresholds. 

A wine exists as a more complex system of acid-base and redox chemistry in constant equilibrium with itself and the outside world, spawned by intended or spontaneous microbiological inoculation. Furthermore, in any wine, the observed qualities may or may not have been objectively present in the grape itself (depending on varietal), begging the question: how did we up with such a diverse system in the final product? Of course, there is intent, on the part of the winemaker, but also (in Taylor’s opinion), an underrepresented scientific inquiry regarding convoluted chemical primary and side reactions, modulated by winemaking practices. 

We look forward to discussing and sharing our experiences as we try a variety of wines, all while aiming to enhance our understanding of what’s actually going on inside these bottles. Keep checking back on the main blog page to keep up with our wine tastings. 

Cheers!

About the Authors

Taylor Johnson
Taylor’s approach to wine is largely rooted in an interest in biochemistry and microbiology. His favorite wines are gently aged Petite Sirahs and GSMs from the Central Coast, but he often seeks out a good dry Riesling fuming with fusel alcohols, and an off-dry Gewürztraminer bursting with floral terpenes. Taylor spent a previous life living in San Luis Obispo working at Law Estate Wines in Paso Robles, before heading off to California Polytechnic State University and moving on to work at Harmony Cellars. Throughout his time in the wine industry, Taylor worked both cellar and tasting room positions, while earning a B.S. in Enology, and Minor in Microbiology from Cal Poly. He is a Staff Research Associate at the Yokoyama Lab at the Memory and Aging Center.

Dan Sirkis
Simply put, Dan did not care about wine when he moved to San Francisco in 2006. When he interviewed at UCSF 14 years ago before beginning his graduate studies, he couldn’t understand why anyone would choose to go on the wine country tour hosted by his prospective graduate program, and he instead opted for the San Francisco city tour. Dan still enjoys exploring cities, but he has become much more interested in the world of wine in recent years. He loves visiting Sonoma County, and particularly enjoys the wines of Piedmont and Burgundy. Dan generally prefers red wines such as Nebbiolo, Pinot Noir, and the occasional Cabernet Sauvignon, but he also enjoys unique, dry whites like Assyrtiko, Muscadet, and Tressallier. Dan earned his B.S. in Pharmacology & Toxicology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences & Pharmacogenomics from the University of California, San Francisco. He is a staff scientist at the Yokoyama Lab at the Memory and Aging Center.