The whys, wherefores and beyond of blind wine tasting
When I started thinking about “blind tasting” a few images came to mind. I pictured velvet bags covering dusty wine bottles and expert sommeliers dressed in their finest with very serious faces, or the cartoon-like image of a blindfolded wine taster sitting in front of an array of wine glasses. The other image that I had was that from Roald Dahl’s short story “Taste”, which was published on December 8 1951 in The New Yorker, where blind tasting was a show of arrogance (and deceit). But my personal experience of blind wine tasting was mostly in the research setting. This meant that I knew the type of wine, but didn’t know the specifics of each glass of wine that was presented. When I was the researcher, we had to be careful about setting up the tasting to prevent any wine from affecting the succeeding wine and to test for taster consistency. There was always a lot of work that went into randomizing tasting orders and creating enough repetition to get results that could be trusted. My most recent experience of blind tasting was in the WSET examination setting for level 3 where we were presented with 2 unknown wines and had to describe them. None of these images or experiences relate to a fun, relaxed social setting.
So when I wanted to put together a blind tasting event for clients, I started questioning why they might be interested in tasting wines blind and how to make it fun and entertaining as well as educational. What might be some of the benefits of tasting wine blind? I started digging a bit deeper. What does it in fact mean to taste wine blind? How many wines should I taste in a blind wine tasting? Are all wines suitable to taste blind? Do I need to taste wines differently at a blind wine tasting? And the questions kept coming!
I find that I best put my thoughts in order by writing them down. So, this blog is my opportunity to answer these questions and more in a way that makes sense to myself, and hopefully to you, the reader.
Why do we taste wines blind?
Neel Burton has written a book called “The concise guide to wine & blind tasting, 4th edition”. In it he explains how our biases, past actions and experiences related to a specific wine can impact the way that we appreciate it during a tasting. For example, we drank Frind Sparkling Brut at my daughter’s wedding. If I know that that is the sparkling wine that I am tasting, my opinion will be coloured by the happy memories of this beautiful day and I will not be able to objectively assess its quality or characteristics. It also stops me from taking note of specific characteristics that would help me to recognize it in another setting. Other factors that can affect our evaluation of a wine are its price, its reputation, the label art, the colour and or shape of the bottle or other packaging, and whether it has a cork or screw cap closure. I have heard many people lament that the wine that they bought on a wine tasting trip doesn’t taste the same when they open it at home. In these cases, the ambience of the tasting room, the beautiful views, company, weather, etc. may all have coloured the perception of the wine during the tasting and the reality of the day-to-day grind is colouring their current perception.
To remove anything that can “taint” our perception of wine, we should know nothing about it other than what appears before us in the glass. In fact, some tasters will go beyond this, removing the sense of sight completely by using cobalt or black frosted wine tasting glasses. In this way we smell and taste the wine without any preconceived notions. It is harder than you think to taste when you takeaway the colour cues!
Some of the benefits of tasting wines blind are the following:
- We increase the mindfulness of our tasting experience and increase our focus on the wine in our glass
- We stretch and develop our remaining senses
- We improve our recall of associated memories
- We are more prepared to discuss the wine as no one knows the answers
- We have no preconceived notions as to the value or reputation of the wines and so can approach each wine with the consideration that it deserves.
- We develop the skills to identify the variety, region, vintage and producer using only our senses
- It can be turned into a game and fun challenge with your friends! (e.g. SOMM TV has created a card game called “Blinders”, where you combine the card deck and wines to gather enough cards to call the wine in a round correctly).
How to choose the wines for a blind wine tasting party?
How many wines?
A wine flight will usually consist of between 3 to 7 wines served in small tasting portions. You don’t want to reach a point where you feel overwhelmed, and your sense of taste becomes fatigued. You also want to make sure that you are able to give each wine the time that it deserves, and allow for focused tasting and discussion. I would suggest that 4 to 5 wines is the ideal number, more than that and you might find that the wine is no longer your sole focus.
Which wines?
Stick with classic wines, even sommeliers have a list of suggested wines for training. Some wines can regularly stump even experts. Wine Folly recommends the following wines as some basic single, and fairly easily identifiable varieties:
Red wines: Pinot noir, Malbec, Merlot, Nebbiolo, Cabernet franc, Grenache, and Syrah
I would add Cabernet Sauvignon to the list. Particularly if you are not a very experienced wine taster.
White wines: Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Riesling, Moscato, Grüner Veltliner, Pinot gris, and Viognier
In SOMM TV “Blinders” the wines that they chose for their original deck areas follows:
Red wines: Cabernet Sauvignon from California, Bordeaux wine from France, Beaujolais Wine from France and Pinot noir from California
White wines: Pinot Grigio from Italy, Sauvignon blanc, Oaked Chardonnay and unoaked Chardonnay (or Chablis from France).
The wines should also be “benchmark” wines, or wines that are closely associated with a particular country and/or region, e.g. Malbec from Argentina or Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand. Outliers will be more difficult to guess.
The wines that you choose should have fairly distinct aromas, and differences in acidity and or tannins so that you can differentiate between them.
Try to avoid wines that are heavily oaked as this can mask the expression of the varietal character.
As you become more proficient, you could try wines from a single variety and vintage but from different regions (horizontal tasting). Or you could even try wines from a single winery and single variety but from different vintages (vertical tasting). I will give some more ideas for blind wine tasting themes a bit later.
Ask your friends to each bring a wine based on a theme that you have chosen. That way no-one knows more than one of the wines that is being tasted.
What do we need for a blind wine tasting party?
We need to “blind” or mask the wines
The wines need to be masked. This means that the bottle itself needs to be hidden. You can use brown paper bags, aluminum foil or fabric bags. Also remove the closures and capsules so that those can’t give a visual clue (or bias). And don’t leave the corks or closures lying around as a clue! The best would be if you have a significant other or non-drinking friend who is able to do this job for you. Otherwise, each person that brings a bottle is responsible for masking their own wine and then you only know that it is their wine, not any other details about it.
Because the wines don’t have a name, you will need to number them to be able to keep track of what you are tasting and to be able to compare notes.
Where do we taste the wines?
It is easiest to observe the wines in a reasonable amount of light (natural or artificial light is best, candlelight or firelight makes the process a bit more complicated), against a white background, e.g. a tablecloth or place mat or reach for your printer paper. The background just needs to be white.
Please also consider tasting in an environment where there aren’t strong smells. Keep the lilies or other strongly aromatic flowers out of any arrangements. Don’t cook any strongly smelling food before or during your tasting sessions. If outside, try not to place your table near the barbecue or scented outdoor plants like jasmine. On this note, ask your guest to refrain from wearing any scent or aftershave.
Neel Burton says that even music can influence our perception of wine, so if your get-together is more serious, keep the background music low or absent.
What else do we need to be able to taste the wines?
Glasses:
You don’t need a new glass for every wine. Rinse out well if moving from a highly aromatic wine to a more neutral wine, or a wine that is more intense (e.g. robust red) to a less intense wine (e.g. rosé).
Pour around 1.5 oz (45 mL) per tasting, this will give you around 14 pours per bottle.
You would be surprised at how the style of the wine glass can affect your perception of the wine, so make sure that everyone has the same style of wine glass for the same wine.
Spit bucket:
Do spit, instead of swallowing. You will better keep your wits about you and be able to have a clear head when assessing the wines in front of you! In the end it will be more fun.
A spittoon can be as simple as a disposable plastic cup.
Elbow room:
The last thing that you need is to spill red wine on yourself or your host’s cream coloured sofa or rug.
Water and neutral crackers or bread:
You will want to cleanse your palate between wines.
Scoring and/or note taking system:
If you are like me, you forget your impressions from one moment to the next. Writing down your impressions will help you when you come to discuss the wine with your friends.
Don’t forget the corkscrew, foil cutter, and pens!
How do we assess the wines?
I recommend tasting and discussing each wine one at a time so that you are able to keep your thoughts clear and not confuse wines.
There is no difference to the steps that we take to assess the wines in a blind tasting compared to any other tasting. You will assess the aroma intensity and characteristics by smelling it. You will assess the flavour intensity and characteristics by tasting it. You will also assess the levels of sweetness, acidity, and tannins, followed by the body and finish of the wine. You will look at the wine to assess its colour intensity and hue, its clarity and any other visual cues such as tears or bubbles. Finally, you will combine all this information and decide on a quality rating. Neel Burton has a blind tasting sheet that is free to copy and use pro forma for your blind tastings.
The difference comes in the next steps:
You will have had to have reached consensus as to how detailed you want your answers to be. This will all depend on what you are comparing. Are you wanting to distinguish between Chardonnay and Pinot Gris for example, or are you tasting Okanagan Rieslings? For the first, the varietal name is a sufficient answer, whereas for the second you might want to try for the region or winery.
Start with the variety and/or style. You will have to have some knowledge and experience of different wines to be able to make an educated guess. If you are able to complete this step, you may move on to trying to guess the country and/or region. As Neel Burton says, “Blind tasting is not unlike crime solving, and there is much that we might learn from Sherlock Holmes”. Start with a blank slate, focus on the data that you get from the tasting and then try to piece it together to get all the probabilities before settling on the final answer.
After each wine, pause to discuss it as a group. Maybe one or two people can share their tastings notes and others can add on as necessary until everyone has had their say. Remember there are no wrong answers!. You can then decide how you want to cast the vote, whether secretly (writing down without others seeing) or calling out and voting.
Then it is time for the reveal! How well did you do?
Blind tasting theme ideas
- Cab blends from around the world: Include left bank Bordeaux, Californian, Okanagan or Similkameen, South Africa
- Sparkling wines: compare Cava, Prosecco, Champagne, Canadian sparkling
- Major red grape varieties in the Okanagan: Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir
- Famous red wines from around the world: Malbec from Argentina, Pinot noir from Burgundy, Shiraz from Australia, Chianti Classico, Red wine from Bordeaux
- Guess the price: Choose a variety or style of wine at different price points.
- Old World vs New World for a couple of varieties, maybe one red and one white
- Cool climate vs. Warm climate for a couple of varieties, maybe one red and one white
Crib notes for some varieties to help you sparkle
Pinot noir: Lighter colour, higher acidity. Expect aromas of red fruits. There may also be earthiness or farmyard characteristics
Malbec: Deep colour, almost inky. According to Wine Folly it has a distinctive bright pink-magenta rim. Expect aromas reminiscent of plums and chocolate with spice
Merlot: Deep ruby colour, with aromas of black and red fruits, plums, and sometimes mint. Tannins are softer than Cabernet Sauvignon.
Nebbiolo: Light red with brick-red undertones. The nose is very complex and the shorthand for its aroma is “tar and roses”. Tannins will be high.
Cabernet franc: Light purple to purple. Can be confused with Cabernet Sauvignon, but generally more aromatic (green bell pepper, red fruit, pencil shavings, spicy), light to medium in body and higher acidity.
Grenache: Dark colour. Ripe, almost candied, red and black fruit. Generally higher alcohol and lower acidity than Cabernet Sauvignon wines
Syrah: Very dark in colour. Expect aromas reminiscent of black fruits, leather, tobacco, black pepper and other spices.
Cabernet Sauvignon: Bluish purple to brick red, depending on age. Characteristic blackcurrant (cassis) green bell pepper (or eucalyptus), cedar, chocolate, cigar-box and vanilla aromas. It has a fairly high acidity and long astringent finish
Sauvignon blanc: Possible a slight green tinge to the color. Expect intense aromas with notes of gooseberry, passion fruit, elderflower, green bell pepper, asparagus
Chardonnay: Lemon yellow with aromas of citrus, deciduous and stone fruits. Acidity is less prominent. There may be evidence of aging in oak.
Riesling: Pale colour, highly fragrant, expect floral and citrus notes and a high acidity
Moscato: Floral aromas, with low acidity and possibly some bitterness on the aftertaste
Grüner Veltliner: Pale gold colour with hints of green. Expect aromas with some white pepper, spice and savoury characteristics. Acidity is high.
Pinot gris: Lemon-yellow colour. Spice, floral, deciduous fruit and stone fruit aromas. Has an oily texture
Viognier: Gold colour with an almost oily mouthfeel. It has floral and fruity notes. The acidity is often low.
Let me know in the comments if you have tried some of these tips and whether you have anything else to suggest for a successful blind wine tasting party.
