Wine writer and judge Yvonne Lorkin fears what Covid symptoms like loss of smell could do to her million-dollar nose. Video / Warren Buckland
Hawke's Bay wine writer and judge Yvonne Lorkin has jokingly considered building a bunker in her backyard, to protect her million-dollar nose from Covid.
For the majority of the population, smell is just one of the five senses that helps us to navigate the world. For supertaster Lorkin, smell ispart of the olfactory system that her livelihood was built upon and its loss would be debilitating.
"Smell is everything, my olfactory system influences everything. I consider it my superpower," she said.
Anosmia is a symptom of the Covid-19 virus, which interrupts the neural pathways between the nose and the brain.
For chefs, perfumiers, and wine tasters like Lorkin, anosmia could take more than their sense of smell - it could rob them of their jobs.
"There are people overseas in my line of work that still haven't got their sense of smell back after catching Covid. For people whose sense of smell has returned, there are certain smells like spice or fruit flavours that they don't perceive the same," she said.
Lorkin, who has been training her sense of smell for 23 years, decided in a stroke of foresight to insure her olfactory system with Lloyds of London for $1 million in 2016.
"After the gas attacks on a subway in Japan, which burned people's nasal passages, I realised the importance of protecting my sense of smell. Put simply, if I can't smell, I can't do my job," she said.
In statistics released by Healthline this year, about 86 per cent of people who catch Covid experience some loss of smell.
Lorkin has been doing everything she can to protect her conk from Covid, with her second vaccination incoming and a strict personal policy on mask use.
"If I lose my sense of smell I'll have to get a real job, not this faffing around sniffing and spitting lark," she said.
Supertaster Yvonne Lorkin at her sniffing, swilling, and spitting station in Heretaunga. Photo / Warren Buckland
Lorkin's olfactory system is tasked more than most. She is the drinks editor of Dish magazine, a wine writer for the Herald's Canvas magazine, and co-founder and chief tasting officer of Wine Friend - a tech-based, personalised wine subscription service.
"It's not so much that I can smell better than the average person, I've just built a career on smelling things and I have learned to articulate my senses," she said.
For Lorkin, her sense of smell helps her navigate and communicate the world of wine.
But for the average Joe Bloggs of the nose-bearing community, Lorkin says the old adage of "follow your nose" has some merit.
"Smell influences who we get close to, it's a navigational tool. We move towards things that smell good and away from things that smell bad.
"Smell tests are used to diagnose neurodegenerative diseases, just like a dog on a walk, we crave smells to keep our brain active," she said.
For people who lose their sense of smell, Lorkin said that in the United Kingdom a support group called AbScent has been formed, providing smell regeneration kits filled with spices and oils in a bid to rehabilitate the nose.
