Drinking in the Dark - Blind Tastings
February 17th, 2005 by GrapeRadio Bunch in Discussion, Podcast
Blind Tasting - Bottles placed in bags to hide idenity.
Blind Tastings…..wine people sometimes engage in elaborate rituals. We have even been known to place our bottles in bags, hiding their identities, in order to evaluate wines. Tasting Wine Blind: A popular party game? Serious wine rating technique? Or just goofy way to explore wines? GrapeRadio debates the ins and outs of this philosophy.
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(19:23 min 9 MB)
Discussion |
Bravo Jay! I loved your take on blind tastings.
This is one of your most entertaining shows. I really enjoyed hearing how your opinions differ and how you defend them.
You may want to consider doing more shows without guests. You are all well spoken and the give and take between the three of you is very engaging.
Keep up the good work.
Adam, we did this show on a whim. We had some extra time on our hands and just started talking. Leigh, flicked a switch (I did not notice at first), and 20 minutes later, another show was born. More natrual, conversational, in nature. I got kind of excited as we were talking. I can not express in words how much it means to us to get feedback on the shows. It encourages us. Thanks!
Jay Selman
www.graperadio.com
Great stuff. As a wine neophyte, I am finding your podcasts to be painless way of getting my feet wet. One great thing about this media is that I am picking up the proper pronunciation of the field’s sometimes odd terminology- something a wine magazine can’t do. The show’s format is great- it is like being able to sit in with the wine geeks (great phrase by the way) hanging around the local wine shop. I especially enjoy it when “current events” get mentioned, like how the film “Sideways” was affecting merlot sales. I am guessing that there are some good deals on merlot for sampling right about now..
I just found by going to your site that the earlier broadcasts are posted for download, so I will be checking those out.
Thanks,
=Jed
Brooklyn, NY
Jed, I have some bad news for you. If you want to learn about pronunciation, I am horrible at it. I am so bad, that when I buy a bottle of, lets say Italian, I just point to it as opposed to trying to say the name. I kid you not on this point. If you really want to learn (which I am too lazy to do) try this place http://www.stratsplace.com/winepronon_dict.html
It was important to us to pass along information about wine and at the same time, make it easy to listen to, a somewhat delicate balance. Your comments struck a cord with me. Much thanks.
Jay (pronounced “j”)
www.graperadio.com
Great show, guys.
Our tasting group — pretty experienced folks — frequently tastes blind. Mostly, it’s for one reason you mentioned — so that we don’t prejudge on the basis of what we know about specific producers or vintages, or what we remember from the last time we tasted a particular wine.
But another educational reason for blind tasting is that it really helps you focus on the characteristics that distinguish one producer or region or vintage from another. If you know that you’re tasting 3 Bordeaux and 3 Calcabs — blind — you really hone in on trying to figure out what qualities differentiate the one from the other.
Whatever the reason for doing it, when you do taste blind, you’d better be willing to check your ego at the door, because you’ll nearly always guess wrong on what’s from where, or decide that the $8 rotgut is your wine of the night.
Joel
Joel your point is well taken about the focus on the ‘characteristics that distinguish one producer or region or vintage from another’. Do I feel the same can be acomplished with the tasting being blind? Yes, I do. However, I love the fact that you use the method to focus rather than compare. That IMHO makes it cool and useful. I must confess, that more than once, I picked a wine as my favorite that , well, was more at home on the shelves of a Walmart then at a wine store. Big deal. I liked what I liked.
Jay
www.graperadio.com
Dear Leigh, Brian & Jay,
I am a member of a wine tasting group that meets every Thursday for lunch from 2 to 4. Each member must bring an interesting bottle of wine to the table to share. We typically do not taste blind, but on occasion we remind each other and bring our bottles wrapped in foil.
The purpose of our blind tastings is to help educate each other. Scoring is only based on grape verietal, location of origin and year, the later being the most difficult without knowlege. Only about half of the group has wine cellars. The other half just loves wine and we all enjoy discussing the selections for that day.
I believe that blind tastings, if taken in the right context can be extremely educational. After all, why are we tasting wine and talking about it? Because we love it!
Evan G.
Evan,
I will use any excuse to drink wine. Blind or not. It’s all about having a lot of fun. The thing I enjoy most about blind tasting is that I might be surprised to find a wine that I might not have otherwise tried.
The quality of wine around the world has increased at an incredible rate over the last few years. Wines from South America, South Africa and many other areas are great examples of this improvement. I learned about these changes via blind tasting. I might have no otherwise tried them and I would have been missing out. Not only are they good but they also tend to be great values since many don’t know the secret.
Brian Clark
Damn wine snobs. You should be proud if you pick the Boon’s Farm as your favorite, especially at a double blind tasting. After all, about midnight what could be better than overpoweringly sweet, nondescript fruit mixed combined with too much alcohol, an easy to open screwcap and a Javier’s Liquor and Condoms brown paper bag decorated with cigarette burns, crimson lipstick and faux chanel parfume. Please don’t tell me you would prefer some over extracted Siduri Pisoni Pinot or maybe an even more over extracted alcoholic Spelletic BoDog Red. No wonder wine geeks are often treated as pariahs by the NASCAR nation.
I am thinking about hosting a blind tasting party. What advise can you give me. Should I specifiy a prices range for the wines people bring ($10-$20) and should I ask everyone to bring the same kind of wine (Cab, Pinot etc). Also I was thinking of giving away a prize for the winner (everybody can vote for top three), What gift do you recommend?
Help Needed
Melissa
Melissa,
The party sounds like a lot of fun. I would specific a price range and ask everyone to bring the same varietal.
As far as prizes go, if you want to keep the wine theme they have a great inexpensive rabbitt ear corkscrew at costco for about $20
Corkscrew
Good luck
Brian Clark
Hey –
Just listened to your show for the first time and heard you (I think) talking about the decline of 1997 cabs. I came across a few bottles of 1997 Gallo Of Sonoma Barelli Creek Cab in a retail store the other day (in Chicago) for about $25. I’ve had the 98 before and enjoyed it (along with the Frei Vineyard of the same year). Is this something I should snatch up before it’s gone, or assume it’s gone and pass?
Thanks (and I enjoyed the show),
– Jonathan Margulies
Jonathan,
I have found that many of the 97s have begun to age a little early and lose the their fruit before they should. However, the based on the typical structure of Gallo Barelli Creek it should still be in good shape. At $25 a bottle is a good pick. I think you will find it is drinking well right now, but I would not cellar it for a long time. It will not get any better than it is right now, so drink up.
Let me know how it goes.
Best Regards,
Brian Clark
Co Host
Grape Radio - Sharing Passion for Wine
brian@graperadio.com
www.graperadio.com
I have been going through and listening through these older podcasts. I’ve listened to 30% of the podcasts and loved them. Especially your different opinions. The fact that you don’t agree is what makes the show. I celebrate the differences in the midst of the singular love of wine.
In this episode, I would have to say that I came to understand Brian’s competitiveness and Jay’s.. “It’s not better, but different” emphasis. Jay, you came across so strong that it made me a bit upset with you because you acted contrary to what you were saying. I felt that you leaned on Brian pretty hard in that this competitiveness thing was a VERY wrong posture and that your perspective was right and better. In short Jay, you wanted to win. As much as Brian likes the game of winning, I think Jay is self-deceived that he too doesn’t have a desire to win, albeit.. it’s expressed differently.
The concept of right or wrong was misrepresented for me in this episode. The real point that I think all three of you were trying to make was that you like finding wine that you like, but somehow it turned into the way you get to that point is just as important if not more so.
Having said all this, the three of you have great chemistry and it would be so easy for the three of you to be at each other’s throats when discussing this topic of wine that is so personal to you all. Your maturity, overall, as you address conflict makes the show consistantly enjoyable and educational to listen to.
This brings me to my last point. I wonder if personality type has clear influence in what wines one enjoys. (i.e. Strong personalities tending towards stronger flavors and people who like to have fun liking more sweet, champagne, lighter stuff.) I think it does.
P.S. I live in Tustin, Ca and I’m headed over to Hi-Time this week because of you guys. Thanks so much.
Dave, our office is in Tustin, so stop by and visit.
I am competitive, to be sure.
Brian and I have known and worked with each other for over 13 years. We tend to bust each others testicles. So maybe that was all that was going on?
I do have a strong personality, so you have given me something to reflect upon.
Jay
p.s Send me an email and I will add you to my wine tastings invite list.