How many of us have taken at least one personality test in our lives? We’re talking tests like Myers-Briggs, Enneagram, DiSC or Golman’s EI (emotional intelligence).
If you’ve been down this road, you know that these tests do an eerily good job of telling us who we are, why we like what we like and why some people are so hard for us to get along with. It’s like getting your palm read by a psychic who can see right through you. But in a good way.
We love these types of tests, not because they’re perfect or the ultimate in woo self-awakening, but because they give a bit of a road map that validates what we already know about ourselves and gives us permission to be who we are. Which, here at BOXT, is one of our foundations. We are all about giving everyone permission to like what they like, regardless of what anyone else likes.
Discovering your BOXT profile is a bit like learning your Enneagram or MB personality, just much, much simpler. It may not help you untangle that sticky relationship at work, but then again, it just might. Like those other tests, which profile you prefer tells a lot about who you are as a wine drinker and what your taste preferences are, not just in wine, but in many other foods.
If you love the pucker value of green apples, lemon, tart cherries, tamarind, kimchi or kombucha, you enjoy the natural taste and sensation of sour – one of our five basic tastes: sour, bitter, sweet, salty, and umami. It’s the acid in these foods that you enjoy – malic in green apples and tart cherries; citric in the lemon; acetic kombucha, lactic in kimchi and tartaric in tamarind.
So what’s the connection with wine? Grapes contain two major acids: tartaric and malic (making up 90% of wine’s total acid) with smaller amounts of citric and even smaller amounts of amino and other acids. And why do we care about acid as wine drinkers? The acid in wine helps balance the fruity and sweet elements, shifts our experience of the alcohol from harsh to pleasant (even sweet) and it helps in the aging process.
A wine high in acidity usually has that crisp, tart taste and feel. A wine lower in acid will feel smooth and round with a slightly sweeter taste – but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a sweet wine.
If, on the other hand, you avoid green apples at all costs, you enjoy the taste and sensation of lactic acids. Think cream-on-top milk and yogurt, ice cream and butter. In winemaking, malolactic bacteria convert malic acid to lactic, giving that buttery taste so many people love, to chardonnays, pinot blancs and white French Burgundies.
So, like the other formats that categorize our personalities into different traits and preferences, we like to think about our wines (and wine drinkers) in a similar way. It’s kind of like the Harry Potter sorting hat, but different.
We break it down by taste preference:
- Sweet or Dry (not sweet)
- Crisp or Smooth
- Crisp wines are refreshing and tart with high acidity
- Smooth wines are soft and supple with low acidity
- Bright or Round
- Bright = high acid Used for fresh, ripe, zesty, lively young wines with vivid, focused flavors.)
- Round = (Wines with generous, full, pleasant flavors, soft, not coarse or tannic low acid
- Oaky or Floral
- Oaky = can include hints of caramel, cedar, honey, mocha and vanilla
- Floral = aromas of lavender, rose, geranium, lily honeysuckle and citrus blossom are a few of the most common rose geranium, lavender and violet and also rose – reds
- Fruit Forward or Savory
- Fruit forward = wine with aromas of ripe fruit, this doesn’t mean a sweet wine)
- Savory = tart fruits, peppercorn, herbs, tobacco or wood for reds; almond, sour apple, grapefruit, lime or mineral flavors
- Full Bodied or Light to Medium Bodied
- Full = a bold, complex tasting wine that feels thicker and coats the mouth (think how thick milk feels versus water) and is found in reds like merlot, cabernet and zinfandel. Because of their complexity, and their alcohol content (full wines usually have 13.5% alcohol or above) full-bodied wines are meant to sipped more slowly than light bodies wines in order to fully experience their subtleties (also because they have a lot more alcohol). They aren’t better than light-bodied wines, they’re just different. Think 30-year old whiskey (high in alcohol, should be sipped slowly and savored) versus an ice cold pale ale which goes down smooth and easy. These wines are perfect paired with heavier, fattier foods and rich meats.
- Light bodied = delicate and, well, light, these wines contain 12.5% alcohol or less which makes the wine feel thinner and less viscous (it doesn’t coat your mouth like a full-bodied wine or butter) and feels clean and often crisp, like a pinot grigio, Gamay or sauvignon blanc. These wines love fresh fish, shrimp, light pasta dishes, salads and vegetables.
- Medium-bodied = you guessed it, somewhere in between. By alcohol content, these wines fall between 12.5% and 13.5%, making them slightly heavier than a light-bodied wine and lighter and cleaner feeling than a full-bodied wine. These wines can be paired with a wide variety of foods.
So while Myers Briggs gives each person four different letters (with a possible 16 permutations, whew), we are all about simple, so we created numbers for each of our wine personalities, aka Profiles.
PROFILE ONE
If you chose bright over round, crisp over smooth and dry over sweet, you’re a Profile One. You also like pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, gruner veltliner, pinot gris, gewurztraminer, albarino. This profile (since we like to think of them as people too) is the friend who shows up at your door wearing a boho dress — true vintage of course, or something from LoveShackFancy — with drinks and food and is happy just sitting on the back deck whiling away the afternoon. She’s reading The Idea of You by Robinne Lee while she listens to this playlist. If she stays for dinner, you know she’ll love seafood, especially grilled shrimp with fresh pasta and asparagus or salad of baby greens. For dessert, it’s creme brulee or a cheese plate full of gruyere, brie and goat cheese with figs and apples.
PROFILE TWO
You prefer a smooth, full bodied and oaky white, which makes you a Profile Two. Chardonnay, marsanne-roussanne and viognier are also in your wine rotation. This wine is the friend who is always smiling, has a big voice, great hair and prefers silk and cashmere. She’s the one you call when things are good (and when things are going sideways). She’s either reading The Boys’ Club by Erica Katz, attending a gallery opening or painting in her own studio while listening to her favorite playlist. When she has you over for lunch, she’ll serve a flaky white fish like halibut, crab cakes or mussels and a salad with pear and pine nuts with lemon bars for dessert.
PROFILE THREE
Sweet, smooth and floral. If that’s your jam, you’re a Profile Three and you are also drawn to Pinot Grigio. This wine wants to get into just a little bit of trouble, but she’s so gorgeous and easy to love, nothing bad ever happens when she’s around. Maybe that’s why she loves The Hunting Wives by May Cobb. It’s trouble on a whole different scale. You’ll never see her in jeans – her closet is full of mid length dresses with full skirts and she pulls them off, every time. They’re her signature along with her red lipstick and her collection of Jimmy Choos. She’ll share her favorite playlist with you when she has you over for brunch and serves duck, truffle pate and quiche Lorraine with rosewater scented baklava for dessert. You’ll sit outside surrounded by her gorgeous garden full of peonies, roses, flox, heather and lavender.
PROFILE FOUR
Dry, savory and medium bodied is your choice and you gravitate towards pinot noir, Gamay, barbera and pais varietals. You’re a Profile Four. She’s the funny, mellow friend who makes everyone feel comfortable and included. She can talk to anyone and everyone wants to have her around. She shows up for her friends’ weekly barbecue in her classic Mercedes convertible that she and her dad rebuilt together wearing palazzo pants and a button down she borrowed from her son tied at the waist – in back. Her hair is up and her smile is big as she hugs everyone hello. There’s a smattering of everything on the grill, she’s so easygoing she loves all the foods – chicken, steak, sausage, vegetables. She rarely tires of being around people, but when she does have a moment to herself, you’ll find her stretched out on the chaise reading The People We Keep by Allison Larkin listening to this.
PROFILE FOUR|FIVE
You went with dry, fruit forward and medium bodied, which makes you a Profile Four|Five – a balance between our Profiles Four and Five. You also enjoy a ripe pinot noir from the Russian River or Sonoma Coast, tempranillo, a lighter Bordeaux, malbec, merlot and coastal syrah. This profile is the friend who pushes the envelope just enough to have fun, but not enough to offend. Everyone loves this friend, but she’s the edgy, quick one who’s always got a smart comeback. She’s going to Egypt next month (she’s done staying home because of Covid) and she’s on her second read of Geraldine Pinche’s Handbook of Egyptian Mythology. She’ll stay up all night talking politics, history, art, fashion and she loves a good wine and cheese soirée, though she, like our Profile Four, will eat just about anything, and especially loves the gamier meats — ribeye, duck, goat and lamb when roasted with rosemary or sage or made into a savory stew with mushrooms. Her favorite dessert is chocolate-covered salted caramels.
PROFILE FIVE
Love a dry, round, full-bodied wine? You’re our Profile Five. You’ll also like cabernet sauvignon-dominant blends and syrah. This profile is our classic red and if she were walking around with us, she’d be driving a 1958 Corvette (top down) while listening to Billie Holiday. A little dangerous, a little flamboyant, this one wears a scarf day and night, whether the top is down or not. She goes through books like she was in the desert and they were water. She just finished Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid and loved it so much, she’s reading it again. She’s complex, but lovely and worth taking the time to get to know her. She loves a good, long dinner with meats and cream sauces and rich, dark chocolate for dessert.
PROFILE SIX
You lean towards sweet, full bodied and fruit forward. You’re our Profile Six. Malbec, zinfandel, merlot and petite syrah are your favorite varietals. This friend is a little naughty and a little nice, and is always up to something. She gets you staying out later than you should without you even realizing it. And you always thank her for it later. She stays up all night reading In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead and loves both murder mysterie and romance movies with equal passion. She’ll talk to you all night long about her newest obsession whether it’s night swimming, roller derby or growing heirloom roses. She likes her food on the savory side — dark meat poultry, sweet and sour pork, bacon-wrapped anything. Her favorite dessert is cheese: asiago, aged cheddar, gouda and especially soft blue cheese.
PROFILE NINE
Bright, crisp, dry, floral. You’re our Profile Nine Rosé. This wine is a whole-cluster pressed rosé of pinot noir, so you’ll enjoy other rosés made the same way. You’ll also likely enjoy mourvedre and grenache. This lovely friend is breezy, light-hearted, joyful and so easy to be around. She prefers summer and wearing pretty dresses and swimsuits with gorgeous coverups. She spends her winters in warm places like the Maldives, the islands off of Honduras and the BVIs. Her newest favorite book is Steven Rowleyrose’s The Guncle, though she’s up for reading any good story with redemption and a (relatively) happy ending. She prefers lighter foods, picnics and sharing meals with loved ones. Her favorites are veggie skewers, roast chicken, salmon or niçoise salad. When she’s not swimming, she’s roaming local bazaars and markets for distinctive and one-of-a-kind art, jewelry and fabrics.
Myers-Briggs land breaks things down into opposites:
Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I)
This is how our profiles tested out:
Profile One, Profile Four, Profile Five and Profile Six
ESFP (Extroverted, Sensing, Feeling and Perceiving) These profiles are outgoing, friendly, accepting and exuberant lovers of life, people, and material comforts. They are flexible and spontaneous, adapt readily to new people and environments.
Profile Two
ENFP (Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceiving)
Warmly enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of possibilities. Readily give appreciation and support. Spontaneous and flexible, often rely on their ability to improvise and their verbal fluency.
Profile Three
ISFP (Introverted, Sensing, Feeling and Perceiving)
Quiet, friendly, sensitive, and kind. Enjoys the present moment, and what’s going on around them. They like to have their own space and to work within their own time frame. Loyal and committed to their values and to people who are important to them.
Profile Four|Five
ESFP + ENTP (Extroverted, Sensing, Intuitive, Feeling, Thinking and Perceiving) This profile is outgoing, quick, ingenious, outspoken, enthusiastic, friendly, imaginative and accepting. It is also and exuberant lover of life, people, and material comforts and is good at reading other wines.
Profile Nine
ENFP (Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceiving)
Warm, enthusiastic and imaginative. See life as full of possibilities. Spontaneous and flexible, often rely on their ability to improvise and their verbal fluency.
And if you’re into Enneagram, see how you match up to our profiles:
Profiles Three and Nine
Enneagram 2 THE HELPER The Caring, Interpersonal Type
Profiles One, Two, Four|Five and Six
Enneagram 7 THE ENTHUSIAST The Busy, Fun-Loving Type
Profile Four
9 THE PEACEMAKER – The Easygoing, Self-Effacing Type
Profile Five
8 THE CHALLENGER -The Powerful, Dominating Type
We love each of our profiles, and we have so much fun thinking about what their personalities are like. We also love that as wine drinkers, we each have our own preferences. One of our foundations at BOXT is helping you figure out what you like and giving you permission to like it, regardless of what anyone else says or what varietal is trending this year. We each gravitate towards a certain taste profile in our favorite wine, and we’ve created a way for each individual to enjoy their favorite – from the comfort of their home, whenever they want. Because for us, it’s all about the experience of enjoying that glass. And who knows, maybe knowing your wine profile will help you understand that annoying coworker because the one thing you do agree on is liking what you like in your wine.
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