All About Umami
Do you remember the photo of the human tongue with colored blotches representing the areas where you can ‘taste’ different flavors?
Since elementary school, things have changed. Over the past 50 years or so, there have been some key developments in the world of flavor:
The first is the debunking of the tongue taste map which had this theory that your tongue has specific areas on it to individually taste sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Instead, scientific research in 1974 has found that you can taste different senses all over the tongue, not only in certain ‘zones’ of the tongue.
Following the above discovery, came another one in 2002: scientists discovered receptors on the tongue that recognize the umami taste. So, only recently has umami become the 5th taste along with sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. Since then, as Asian foods have become more integrated into the American cuisine, “umami” has transformed from a popular foodie buzzword to a standard part of our flavor expectations when we eat.
To get an overview of all 5 categories of taste check out this article. To do a deep dive into the world of umami in food, wine, and wine and food pairings, read on.
What is Umami?
Mushrooms, like in this mushroom pasta sauce, are often full of umami flavors.
Umami is considered the ‘fifth taste,’ after sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. It is often described as a sensation that is pleasant and savory yet that is distinct from sweet, sour, salty, and bitter flavors.
The “original four” main tastes, sweet, sour, bitter, and salty, are ones that you can easily wrap your head around. That’s because you can correlate 1 specific food which has one of these 4 tastes. Think of the sensation when tasting sweet sugar, acidic lemon juice, bitter radishes, and salty chips. These tastes, flavors, and sensations all are ‘felt’ by our taste buds covering the tongue. Umami, on the other hand, is less tangible to conceptualize since it is difficult to pin down the taste to one type of food item.
This is another reason that the old-fashioned ‘tongue map’ is outdated: we now know that each individual taste bud has receptors for each taste. Each of these tastes is represented by the mixtures of chemical compounds inside the foods & beverages as they react with our taste buds, saliva, and each other as we eat and drink.
Another fun fact is that every person will have different perception levels for these compounds; for example what may seem really sweet to one person may not be to another person, and the same goes for bitterness, acidity, saltiness, etc. That’s because flavor, which is ultimately the perception we have of the food (and beverage) you’re eating and drinking gets encapsulated after it passes from the tongue to the brain and when breathing out, also your nose receptors get involved, as we outline in this article about what balance is in wine (and food). Flavor perceptions are based on culture, experiences, habits, personal likes and dislikes, and many other factors as well.
A good way to start to understand what umami is, is to dissect the origin of the word, which combines “umai (delicious) and mi (taste) to mean ‘pleasant savory taste.’" It was coined by the Japanese chemist who is credited with identifying umami as a taste back in 1908.
What is umami flavor?
Umami flavors come from the presence of glutamate, an amino acid found in many foods, including meat, fish, vegetables, and dairy products.
In fact, MSG, or monosodium glutamate, is a great way to add umami flavors to a dish. This glutamate compound is responsible for the unique taste sensation of umami and is often used as a flavor enhancer in processed foods. It is also why the umami flavor is often associated with eastern Asian cuisine, thanks to the pretty common use of this spice.
Why is Umami controversial? It has to do with another debunked myth that MSG is bad for you. MSG is considered a healthy substitute for salt in your diet, unlike in the past when a hoax was going around getting Americans to think that eating in Chinese restaurants was bad for you.
Umami taste is often described as a rich, savory, meaty, or broth-like flavor. It is different from other tastes in that it is not easily identifiable and can be difficult to describe. It is not really associated with a smell either, so it can be difficult to detect before actually tasting.
In summary, umami can enhance the overall flavor of food by balancing the other tastes: sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and bitterness.
Cod, like the baccalà used to make these ciccetti, is also rich in glutamate and umami flavors, especially when garnished with other umami rich foods like black olives and pickled capers.
What Foods Are Full of Umami?
In recent years, umami has gained attention in the culinary world, with chefs using umami-rich ingredients to enhance the flavor of their dishes. In general, the higher the presence of glutamate in a food is, the more umami flavor that will be perceptible. But what foods naturally have umami flavor in them?
It is often found in foods that are rich in protein, which is why it is commonly associated with meat and fish.
Meats, like beef or bacon, tend to pick up more umami flavors the longer they are aged or cured, for example in the way that dry-aged beef has often much more depth of flavor due to its increased umami content.
A lot of seafood has high glutamate content and thus a lot of umami flavor. The prime examples are always given as seaweed and bonito flakes, but other fish like tuna, clams, shrimp, anchovies, sardines, and cod are also great examples of umami.
However, umami can also be found in plant-based foods such as truffles, black olives, asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, and soy sauce. It is also common in pickled or fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut.
We see it in aged cheeses as well, with the most prevalent being an aged Parmiggiano Reggiano.
And guess what? To have an even more intense umami taste in what you’re eating, combine 2 foods that are both umami rich: think mushrooms with Parmiggiano Reggiano.
Overall, there are so many great ways to use umami to add some extra dimension to a dish through adding strategic ingredients that are naturally rich in glutamates.
Umami Flavors in Wine
Can umami flavors be identified in wine?
Yes! Just like glutamate is found in many vegetables (especially as they become more ripe), glutamate is also naturally present in grapes. Its concentration can vary depending on the grape variety and ripeness level, but it is also formed during the winemaking process, especially during the fermentation stage, where yeast converts the grape's sugars into alcohol. The breakdown of yeast cells during fermentation releases glutamate, which contributes to the wine's overall umami taste.
This means that wines with extended contact with the lees or long yeast aging have higher probabilities of developing umami characteristics. Like with food, umami flavors present in wine can enhance the wine's flavor profile by complementing or balancing other taste components, such as acidity and bitterness. It can also provide a sense of depth and complexity to the wine's taste, making it more enjoyable and satisfying to drink. Sometimes, you can recognize ‘umami’ in wine as a more savory element that comes through. Remember, umami is a flavor, to unfortunately you won’t be able to tell if a wine has it until tasting, it cannot be smelled in the bouquet.
What are some examples of umami wines? Quick answer is a wine is described as savory, since savoriness is considered a synonym of umami.
The cause of savoriness in wine is a complex answer but for sure there are many contributing factors which make a wine savory. Here are a couple:
Impact of Yeast to Create a Umami Wine
Since yeast contributes to making a wine savory, one tip is to try a Pet Nat style wine. What is a Pet Nat wine? It is a bottle fermented, unfiltered sparkling wine wine which is on its lees. What are lees? Literally lees is dead yeast sediment. Sounds gross, right? But, no worries, it is an all plant based substance which are the leftovers from the fermentation process. Champagne style wines disgorge the lees, so to create a filtered “clean” effect, while “col fondo” sparkling wines.
As a first try, you can taste a Pet Nat wine that is bottled ‘col fondo’, or on the lees. The extended lees contact helps propagate glutamate and umami flavors.
The Italian Pet Nat Master, Eros Zanon’s, sparkling wines all have a savory element that translates well into recognizing the umami flavor, and are natural wines, low in alcohol too. Try his amazing glera col fondo sparkling wine, made from the prosecco grape: think of it as a mineral rich prosecco with a touch of lime… hmm… a low alcohol alternative to a margherita?… Similarly, his Boschera, a skin contact Pet Nat wine made from the rare boschera grape, brings forth yeasty and nutty flavors that create a savory profile as an umami touch to the palate. This savory element also means that all of Zanon’s sparkling wines are rich in umami flavors and are great pairing wines.
Beyond Pet Nat wines, also still wines that are on its lees for a long time, like Quercia Scarlatta Marchese Japo white wine blend, and Orange Wines, or skin contact natural wines, lend themselves to savoriness due to yeast’s overarching influence in giving the overall character to the wine.
Can the Type of Soil Impact a Wine’s Flavor?
As we mentioned earlier, flavor is practically a subjective term since it involves a complicated process of all of your senses and your brain interacting all at once to determine an “output” which is flavor. For sure, soil is a big factor in the texture, or mouthfeel, that one senses when tasting a wine. When you know that you are tasting a wine which was grown from grapes on a specific type of soil, it can lead to conclusions on the wine’s flavor, which can include a savory note.
Fasolari clams, a meaty, umami-rich type of clam found in the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas, pair well with umami red wines, like Barolo Serralunga.
For example, our founder and sommelier, Sheila Donohue, recently tasted Aldo Clerico’s Serralunga d’Alba Barolo which come from the part of the Barolo wine region known for the oldest soil. She has always experience an intriguing tactile sensation in this wine, and recently concluded that it is this yin and yang contrasting play between the red fruit and the umami flavors that makes her enjoy the wonder of tasting this single vineyard Barolo.
Another type of soil which creates a surreal impact when drinking a wine is a wine made from volcanic soil. Often volcanic wines have a savory depthness to it. Some examples are Sandro de Bruno Durello champagne style sparkling wines, La Maliosa’s Uni Orange Wine and La Maliosa’s Tarconte, a rare volcanic Sangiovese red wine.
What Other Things Can Make a Wine Savory?
The list goes on, from impacts of other wine making technicques to bottle aging.
One important elements is the DNA make-up of a grape which impacts the taste profile of a wine. They say that wines which are high in the rotundone molecule, like Schioppettino, have a tendency to create umami rich wines.
Pairing Wine and Food: Umami Edition
Let’s have a look at putting together some umami rich wine and food pairings.
Now, a bit like always when pairing wine and food, there is a certain level of personal taste involved, and especially with an enigmatic flavor like umami that is often found in conjunction with other strong flavors, may not be perfect. But, now is the time to pull out your wabi-sabi attitude and embrace perfect imperfections.
Alternatively, many crave umami. So think: to pair umami rich foods with a wine that has umami, your craving will be satisified!
As a general ground rule super high in umami foods will make a wine seem more astrigent, or harder. It might remove some body and make it feel more bitter or acidic on the palate. So when picking a wine to pair with an umami-rich dish, now it not the time to pull out a tannin-rich big bold wine like a Barolo. We want to select a wine that will not overpower the dish, as no doubt when selecting it we wanted those umami flavors. For this reason, a lot of natural wines work well with umami dishes. Here as well, we want to look for wines like orange wines like the La Maliosa Saturnalia Bianco, previously known as Saturnia Bianco, cited by the Culinary Institute of America as a great wine to recommend for difficult food pairings. Otherwise extended lee contact wines are another avenue to look for. Try out something like the 100 month Durello champagne method on it lees for over 8 years, it is a one of a kind complex, food friendly sparkling wine. Another category of wine that works well with umami foods are those not aged in oak, so an unoaked white wine aged for several months in contact with its lees like the buttery blend Quercia Scarlatta Marchese Japo could be another option for you.
All in all savory wines are great to pair with so many different dishes as they generally go really well with different types of flavors and foods. They are the kinds of wines that can be paired through all courses of a meal easily.
Enjoy exploring umami on your plate and in your glass!
Find Umami in Your Wine Glass with These Wines
Umami Sparkling Wines
A 100% glera grape white sparkling wine made with native yeast fermentation, this natural wine vintage “prosecco” is from vineyards in the old part of Valdobbiadene, made also in the historic tradition of the ancestral style, or Pet Nat, as it is bottle fermented on the lees. A light color, giving an early hint to its bright acidity, the bouquet of citrus and lemon flowers bursts forth in the glass once it opens. When tasting this ancestral method natural wine, apricots and persistent bubbles create a sparkling wine that is enjoyable with brunch, aperitivos , get-togethers, you name it.
The circle and dot logo represents both the human existence and evolution, as well as winemaker Eros Zanon’s personal view of his vineyards, a dot of small-production boutique quality in the larger circle of large-production Proseccos.
This is an unfiltered sparkling wine made similar to the champagne style from a rare grape called Boschera, native to Veneto, Italy where there is less than 20 acres in the world! We were the first to import this grape into the US!
Compared to the Prosecco grape (Glera), Boschera is more complex, and in fact this wine has been aged for over 3 years in the bottle on the lees.
With 2 days of skin contact giving it a deep yellow color, this native yeast fermented natural wine is then refermented with its native lees and then undisgorged, so it is unfiltered and continues to age on the lees too, allowing it to become more complex over time.
You can say it is a vintage & aged ancestral method, or Pet Nat style, also called Col Fondo in Italian since it is on its lees. It has herbal, nutty and yeasty aromas and savory taste with a long saline finish. Pairs with many foods & throughout the meal, from appetizers to main course.
This rare and evolved Extra Brut Metodo Classico (Italian for the traditional method or Champagne method) is a special sparkling wine, offering a complex and rich flavor profile that tastes of caramel, crème brûlée, and warm croissant, followed by savory yeast and a hint of burnt caramel.
This wine is crafted mainly from the indigenous Durella grape on volcanic soil, which contributes exceptional saline and flinty mineral notes. An amazing 100 months of aging (8 years) on the lees gives it an incredibly fine, persistent perlage and a pleasantly dry, fresh finish.
It is markedly the most intense of its 36 month aged and 60 month aged counterparts, creating an amazing tip-top expression of the durello grape. You can try all three of these wines for yourself in the Durello Flight Set!
Tastes Like: Creme Brulee
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Sustainable Winery | Volcanic Soil | Bottle Fermented | Champagne Style
Fun Facts: Born from volcanic soils at a dramatic 600 meters above sea level near the picturesque city of Verona.
Umami White Wines and Orange Wines
This natural wine is delicious fruit-forward organic vegan white wine, a blend of hard-to-find native varieties from the province of Macerata in Le Marche, Italy, a hilly area just to the east of Tuscany not far from the Adriatic Sea, has it all, great nose, taste, texture and structure. While it is unoaked, it was on the lees for 6 months with weekly battonage, contributing to its complexity of aromas, ranging from melon to saffron, and intensity of flavors. Made with indigenous varieties from Le Marche, Maceratino (also called Ribona) and Incrocio Bruni 54, it is a testament to Le Marche white wines.
Quercia Scarlatta follows a minimal intervention approach to vegan winemaking, using native yeast fermentation in their wines like this Marchese Japo.
Woman made Saturnalia Bianco, on VinePair’s list of Top 15 Best Orange Wines, is an award winning, unfiltered and delicious skin contact orange wine made from old vine procanico & trebbiano grapes cultivated in volcanic soil.
This natural wine is made from the patented Metodo Corino, based on regenerative farming principles. Nothing is added but grapes! Made with unpressed, free run juice with native yeast fermentation. A two week maceration imparts a dark amber color. Aged only in stainless steel tanks, it has aromas of candied fruit, dried apricot and ginger.
It has pleasant acidity and tannins, and is balanced with a long finish. A pretty deep orange color, it is a great wine for difficult food pairings, it pairs with almost any dish.
Tastes Like: Apricot nectar and chamomile
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Winery | Biodynamic | Native Yeast Fermentation | Vegan | No additives (ie non sulphites added) | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino | Natural Wine
Fun Facts: - The natural farming method that produced this wine, the metodo corino, is actually patented by La Maliosa woman winemaker Antonella Manuli after she helped to develop it with natural wine legend Lorenzo Corino of Case Corini.
- Named in honor of the Roman festival in December which took place near the winery, La Maliosa, this wine was once called Saturnia Bianco.
Uni is a stately, rich, complex yet easy drinking apricot & umami essence of a wine that is super small production.
Coming from the wild part of Tuscany, Maremma, the La Maliosa farm carefully crafts their 00 wines (nothing added, nothing removed: only fruit) prioritizing local traditional grapes , like procanico, the hyper local grape used to make this orange wine. Macerated for three weeks on the skins, Uni then ages for seven months in stainless steel tanks.
This natural wine comes from 100% volcanic, old vine procanico, the ancient grape native to Maremma Tuscany, a relative of trebbiano. The rare Tuscan volcanic soils of Pitigliano, where the old vineyard is, give depth and minerality to this wine that naturally expresses fantastic floral, herbal and spice flavors, like lavander and sage and turmeric.
Tastes Like: Apricot nectar with umami mixed in
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Winery | Biodynamic | Native Yeast Fermentation | Vegan | No additives | No sulfites added | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino | Natural Wine| Single vineyard | Old Vine | Volcanic
Fun Facts: If you were to ask La Maliosa's founder and visionaire, Antonella Manuli, which is her favorite wine, Uni wins hands down. Why? You have to taste it and then you'll get it.
Umami Red Wines
Made with native yeast fermentation, this Barolo Serralunga is a special natural wine. Rich on the nose with dried violets typical of the nebbiolo grape, the bouquet is austere and profound with balsamic notes. Once sipped, the earthy texture is out of this world, which marries pleasantly with the structure, fruit and spice of this elegant red. Well accented tannins are soft and decanting is strongly recommended.
Tastes Like: Earthy Spices
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Biodynamic | Native Yeast Fermentation | Single Vineyard
Fun Facts: This is a single vineyard Barolo from the Serralunga d'Alba village, known to produce the most age worthy Barolos.
Prepotto is the birthplace of the hard-to-find Schioppettino varietal. It gets its name from the Italian 'schioppare' or to burst, since the grape 'bursts' in your mouth when you eat it. Aromas and tastes of black pepper and plums. Fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged for two to two and a half years in oak barriques. Strong cheese lovers love to indulge in this wine.
Gold Medal Decanter, plus many other awards. Vigna Petrussa's oak-aged 2019 Schioppettino won the prestigious 3 Bicchieri Award by Gambero Rosso.
Vigna Petrussa is a certified sustainable and biodiverse women-owned winery.
This wine is a rare treat, being one of the very few Sangiovese red wines grown on volcanic soil. This natural wine is a complex yet approachable. Tarconte is a distinctive old world style natural red wine with a touch of new world, having been aged for 36 months in oak barrels. Notes of earth, mineral, herbs, black pepper, it is super juicy with ripe tannins, a real food wine. A good pairing is with rosemary Asiago cheese. Don't be in a rush to enjoy it: open it and see how it evolves!
Tastes Like: A Baking Spice Cabinet
Farming & Winemaking Highlights: Regenerative Agriculture | Sustainable Winery | Biodynamic | Native Yeast Fermentation | Vegan | No additives (ie non sulphites added) | Unfiltered | Organic | Metodo Corino | Natural Wine
Fun Facts: - The natural farming method that produced this wine, the metodo corino, is actually patented by La Maliosa woman winemaker Antonella Manuli after she helped to develop it with natural wine legend Lorenzo Corino of Case Corini.
- Named after an Etruscan mythological hero.
