Media Appearances
Industry Roundtable
The Future of Wine: Reconnecting with Consumers (Jan. 5, 2026)
This global round table brings together leading voices from science, markets, digital culture, and innovation to explore one essential question:
How can wine reconnect with people — emotionally, culturally, and socially? Rather than defending the past, this conversation looks forward. Rather than debating who is right, it explores what could come next.
🌍 What makes this conversation unique
• Sensory science meets human emotion
• Traditional markets meet digital-first cultures
• Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas in one conversation
• Legacy knowledge meets future signals
🍷 Meet the panel
Dr Isabelle Leschaeve — Sensory scientist and global reference in consumer perception
Sophie Liu — Renowned wine KOL in China, expert in digital platforms and new consumption culture V
irginie Bellocq-Valton — International wine sales expert, with experience across 30+ markets
Priscilla Hennekam — Leader of the movement Rethinking the Wine Industry, at the crossroads of innovation and marketing
Moderated by Nathalie Malbran, founder of Ladies in Wine, a global platform connecting women, ideas, and cultures through wine.
Podcast interviews
Taste Toast Travel, hosted by Tara
Tara is taking the lead on this episode of Taste Toast Travel as she chats with Isabelle Lesschaeve, a distinguished sensory scientist and wine expert!
Isabelle shares her inspiring journey through sensory science to the wine and non-alcoholic beverage industries, drawing from her academic and professional experiences in the US and Canada.
MB Sense - Sensory Conversation hosted by Ivan Mendez
A fun conversation with Ivan, a colleague sensory scientist and Executive Director of MB Sense, a Mexico-based sensory research agency.
ThirstyThursdays at 3PM EST, hosted by Jessie Ott
🍇 Dive into the world of sensory science with wine expert Isabelle Lesschaeve!
Learn how to train your palate, understand wine flavors, and improve your tasting skills.
In this video, you’ll learn:
✅ How *sensory science* can transform your wine-tasting experience.
✅ Tips to *train your palate* and identify wine flavors like a pro.
✅ The impact of *COVID on taste and smell and how to recover.
✅ How wineries can use sensory science to connect with consumers.
✅ Isabelle’s journey from France to becoming a wine sensory expert.
The World of Taste and Smell hosted by Stephanie Feuer and Mindy Yang, co-founders of the World Taste & Smell Association.
Guest: Dr. Isabelle Lesschaeve, a renowned sensory scientist and wine expert with over 30 years of experience.
In this episode, Dr. Lesschaeve shares how sensory science is revolutionizing wine appreciation, making it more intuitive and inviting for everyone—whether you’re a seasoned connoisseur or just beginning your journey.
She breaks down traditional barriers in wine tasting, emphasizing blind tasting, sensory memory, and consumer-centric education as key tools to elevate the experience.
What You’ll Learn:
🍷 How sensory science is transforming wine appreciation
👃 The role of sensory memory in tasting
🔬 Practical tips for refining your wine tasting skills
🎓 The importance of a consumer-first approach in wine education
An Aromatic Life hosted by Frauke Galia
#114: In this episode, Frauke sits down with Sensory Scientist and Wine Tasting Mastery Coach Dr. Isabelle Lesschaeve to discuss interesting ways to train your nose.
Isabelle explains what a sensory scientist does, shares why it's helpful to identify smells, and provides tips for better recognizing those I-know-what-that-smell-is-what-is-it smells.
She gives her perspective on why it's hard for us to describe smells, gives tips on how to do so, and encourages us to trust our senses more.
Isabelle also shares her opinion on what people get wrong about wine tasting, and gives tips on how to know if a wine is good quality.
Wine Talks with Paul K.
Paul was curious about the Wine Aroma Wheel, which was invented in 1990 to help consumers get in touch with their senses to understand describing the smell of wine.
Isabelle also shared her journey as a sensory scientist and how she ended up creating InnoVinum to help wine enthusiasts trust their senses and become more confident in describing wine aromas.
Have a listen.
AigoraCast hosted by Dr. John Ennis
Dr. Isabelle Lesschaeve is a sensory and consumer scientist with 25+ years of experience.
Isabelle held positions with increasing responsibilities in academia and R&D departments in France, Canada, and the US, most recently as the Director of Product Guidance at The Coca-Cola Company.
Isabelle is the author and co-author of 50+ peer-reviewed articles. She excels in and loves designing learning plans to unlock complex questions related to consumer consumption behaviors.
Isabelle pivoted her career recently to focus on two of her passions, wine & education, through InnoVinum, her consulting company.
She publishes weekly articles on her website innovinum.com, and just created an online course platform, InnoVinum Academy, to train wine enthusiasts to taste wine using her sensory science framework.
