Jimi Hendrix with A Red

Research carried out by the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh has found that music will affect the taste of wine.

The Department of Applied Psychology at the University has found that Jimi Hendrix best goes with a Cabernet Sauvignon while Otis Redding best suited a Merlot.

Professor Adrian North, head of the department, found that wine stimulates specific areas of the brain. When wine is tasted, the area of the brain will correspond differently to various flavors and that will effect how you enjoy the music around you.

Winemaker Aurelio Montes has concurred with the results stating "I've always believed that playing Gregorian chants aids in the maturation of our wines - it was therefore a natural extension to link with Heriot Watt and to scientifically determine the impact that music has on how wine tastes."

Professor North explains: "I was intrigued by Montes' approach of incorporating music in the winemaking process, and was keen to explore whether music could actually influence the taste of their wines. This is the first time it has been scientifically proven that music can affect perception in other senses and change the way wine tastes."

The whole exercise sounds like it could be a scientific breakthrough. More realistically though, it sounds like one big bullshit excuse to explain a piss-up at the university.