Fine Blind Wine

Say that one five times fast. Last Tuesday was my first experience with blind tasting wine. A blind tasting is simply tasting with no knowledge of what the wine is. This usually requires a third party to uncork and place the wine in a brown bag for you. I had the pleasure of tasting with my good friend Mike, his roommate Chris, and their friend Andy. They are all students at Johnson and Wales University (Congrats to the graduates!) and participate in this activity every week to hone their wine skills and knowledge. They set it up with a wine store who selects three bottles of wine from various regions and vintages from throughout the world.

Our first wine was a white, and I was immediately in over my head with the notes sheet they gave me. There are so many aspects of the wine I had never considered or never thought of. These include but are not limited to characteristics such as brightness, acidity, and color variation. After my many questions we preceded to discuss the wine at hand. When they mentioned that the greenish tint to it signals a cool climate, I immediately thought New Zealand. And some of the flavors reminded me of Sauvignon Blancs that I have had. Needless to say my guess was a 2004 New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from the Marlborough appellation. Mike thought it was a Chenin Blanc from the Loire Valley in France, and Chris and Andy both thought it was a Pinot Grigio from two different Italian appellations. Chris and Andy were closest when the wine was unveiled as a Trebbiano from Italy.

The next wine was a perplexing red that I thought was some Spanish blend. Mike felt it was from Australia and was some type of Shiraz/Cabernet blend. I honestly can't remember what Chris and Andy thought it was. We were all shocked to see it was a little known grape from Austria that had made this wine.

The final wine was another red. I immediately picked out the flavor of chocolate and the smoothness of the wine. My initial guess was a California Merlot. If there is one region I am confident in, it is California. But when the other three more experienced gentlemen started talking about Shiraz and Australia, I kept second-guessing myself. Chris immediately told me not to scratch out my first guess and to go with my instinct. So I said 2003 Napa Valley Merlot. The others all were leaning in some direction towards Australia. Needless to say, I was shocked when the bottle turned out to be a 2002 California Merlot. I didn't necessarily felt vindicated, but rather proud of myself. I felt like all my amateur research and effort put into my wine hobby paid off when I was so close to nailing that wine.

Special thanks to Chris and Andy for helping me further my wine knowledge of wine, and putting up with, what they probably felt, were asinine questions. Big thanks also to Mike for the spectacular dinner afterwards at Napa Valley Grille, the ostrich was superb and the wine was stunning. Till next time..."Beer is made by men, wine by God!"--Martin Luther (The religious figure not Civil Rights pioneer)