Authenticity Watch (?): Eating Dirt

This was probably inevitable: From the NYT ideas of the year series, Gourmet Dirt:

During the tastings, Parker spoons dirt into stemmed wineglasses and adds a small amount of water — essentially making mud — to release the soil’s aroma.

Tasters bury their noses in the wineglasses and sniff deeply. The dirt’s vapor molecules fall on the backs of tasters’ palates, and they taste what they smell. "It’s just like when you walk out after it rained," Parker says, "and you say, ’Oh, my God, that smells vibrant.’