Spring wine trail events are in full swing. Tasting rooms will soon be filled with people looking to break the “cabin fever” to enjoy a lovely spring afternoon or evening with a glass of wine that suits their taste buds.

The wonderful thing about our wineries is that each has its own personality and each offers a range of wines for nearly every palate. And given the myriad choices, it is interesting to understand why some in each group of tasters might prefer a range of wine styles. The reasons are many: physiology, life experiences, the situation at the moment of tasting and more.

Certainly, there is no wrong or right choice — some people are simply attuned to different wine styles. The maxim “the best wine is the one you most enjoy” should be everyone’s goal.

An interesting explanation of the differences between people’s palate choices comes from a researcher and Master of Wine named Tim Hanni in his great book called “Why You Like the Wines You Like.” Based on some work with a Cornell wine expert, the book explains why so many different wine style preferences exist.

• For sweet wine lovers (called in his book Hypersensitive Vinotypes), he explains that some folks are actually physiologically geared to sweet wines and because of their genetic makeup, they likely spend their entire life ONLY enjoying sweets. Hypersensitive Vinotypes have many, many taste buds so they love light, fragrant wines that are low alcohol with a hint of sweetness. Bold reds can overwhelm their palates and are often just too much for them. Over the years, as noted below, some of these Hypersensitive folks will gravitate to other styles, but in many cases, they will enjoy sweet (and sometimes sweeter) wines forever. In kindergarten, they probably also had to cut the tags out of their shirts and make sure their socks are not catawampus in their boots as all of their skin surfaces also have more nerve endings than most people.

• The second group Hanni describes are the Sensitive Vinotypes, and make up the bulk of the wine consuming public. They enjoy the widest range of styles. They order wines that may be very dry to those that are quite sweet, including both reds and whites. This explains, in part, that during the coming Ice Wine events, visitors go home with bottles of both the super sweet Ice Wines and dry reds like Cabernet Franc. Each has a place on their dining room table, depending on the entree or dessert being served with their meals.

• Tolerant Vinotypes have the fewest taste buds, resulting simply from their genetics or from years of enjoying spicy foods and smoking cigarettes or cigars. This means that their palates are somewhat dulled and need intense stimuli. They tend to like big, high alcohol wines, often reds with lots of tannin. They typically use lots of pepper flakes on their spaghetti, eat Doritos Flamin’ Chips and claim the hot peppers from their partner’s salad.

• Then there are the Conflicted Vinotypes. Often, they started out as a Sensitive or Hypersensitive Vinotype but because of life experiences, have learned to not only tolerate, but enjoy, nearly every wine style. They may belong to a gourmet cooking club that explores international cuisine or have visited dozens of wineries where the tasting room staff have helped them understand the many nuances of each wine style. These are the folks that sometimes incessantly swirl, sniff and slosh before they sip. It is not pretension on their part, but a way to help them anticipate what is about to happen before the wine hits their palate.

The bottom line: dry or sweet, neither is right or wrong. Again. the “best” wine always is the one most enjoyed by each individual. So depending on one’s Vinotype, there will be lovely wines to satisfy every palate at nearly every winery in Ohio.

For additional information: dwinchell@OhioWines.org.