The 2009 British Psychological Society Conference in Brighton
Speaking at BPS Conference
I was asked to speak at the British Psychological Society Annual Conference in my home town of Brighton last week. As it was an evening slot before the wine tasting I decided to focus on ‘wine enjoyment’. There were over 200 Psychologists in the function room and most of them looked pretty thirsty. I did a quick straw poll which suggested a high level of interest in the world of wine amongst the international delegates. This helped to confirm my belief that the worlds of psychology and wine are ‘joined at the hip’.
As the focus was wine enjoyment I proposed a model of this as a function of three variables;
The attributes of the wine itself (W), The personality and individuality of the taster (P) and the Environmental context (E). So that Wine Enjoyment W(e) = f (W,P,E). This guides us if we are aiming to understand the integrative transformation of tasting and also suggests how we might optimise enjoyment.
I gave examples based on theory and research and encouraged delegates to drink ‘less but better’ wine with an awareness of the importance of context (good company, food, music etc).
The wine tasting was led by the charismatic and passionate Ben Furst of Sussex Vine Tours . Ben introduced 4 Italian Wines which were very well received.
White
Cantine Settesoli Mandrarossa Fiano
Soave Classico Cantine de Negrar
Red
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Cantine Moncaro
Chianti Loggia del Conte
I particularly enjoyed the Fiano and am a big fan of this grape.
I caught up with an old friend Jaap Erasmus, a lovely man and very experienced Psychologist working in the field of Autism. It was also nice to discuss the wines with Jon Sutton, the innovative Editor of The Psychologist Magazine who has overseen a radical and successful redesign of the mag. The evening ended with a buffet and karaoke. It was a beautiful evening and I took a walk along the seafront and recalled memories from my youth.