Anna Mantheakis explores flavour through an unusual sensory lens. A trained winemaker and wine student, Mantheakis discovered that sound profoundly shaped the way she experienced taste. What began as an attempt to block outside noise while studying wine evolved into a deeper realization: different soundscapes could actually transform what she perceived in the glass.

Over time, she developed a personal lexicon of what she calls “sound-flavours,” using her synesthesia almost like a sensory filter when tasting. Much like adding water to a whisky or warming a glass to unlock aromatics, Mantheakis uses sound to heighten and shift flavour perception.

The selections below accompany Charlene Rooke’s article “The Taste of Sound, the Colour of Smell, and the Shape of Flavour” found in Edition 03 of the Flavour Report. Here, Mantheakis shares three “gnarly” tasting sounds she uses in sensory work and describes how each one changes the way flavours unfold.