The ability to recognize a wine by a blind taste is an extremely coveted practice and one of the most satisfying achievements of any oenophile.
Blind-Tasting is the elusive grail of the professional wine-tasting world, consisting of equal parts talent, training and luck for success.
This practice evolved from a professional need to identify fake wines as bottles did not come with a label in the old days. this type of tasting is considered to still be the best way to measure the true quality of a specific wine. The idea is that when a wine’s identity is unknown, a taster can reach an objective conclusion to the actual worth of the wine. The other type of blind-tasting is practiced by both professionals and amateurs, which is more of a social game rather than serious business.
Daniel Posner, owner of Grapes the Wine Company in White Plains, NY, says “One can follow specific steps to improve the odds of a correct guess,” in regards to blind taste-testing.
However, Sommeliers must be proficient in this skill. A variation of this theme is an important part of the exam that is administered by the Court of master Sommeliers, which is an accredited professional organization. Candidates of the Sommelier program just correctly identify at least four to six grape varieties to pass the rigorous test. The statistics of this test may be shocking, as something fewer than 10% of the candidates actually manage to pass the exam.
Raj Vaidya, head sommelier at Daniel restaurant in new York says, “You can expect certain things in a wine like Chablis—mineralogy, high acidity.” He says, if a wine seems oaky one might mistakingly think it is flawed.
Although sampling wines may seem like the best ways to become better at blind-tasting, one can follow a specific guideline f=of steps to improve the odds of a correct guess. The first step is a visual examination of the wine, something casual amateurs forget to do, as certain wines ar much lighter than others.
The second step involves tilting the glass to check the wines viscosity. A viscous wine means higher in alcohol and higher-alcohol content wines usually come from warmer climates.
Smelling and of course tasting are the third and fourth steps. The aromas will reveal almost everything you need to know to identify the wine.
Blind tasting prove that the professional version can definitely deliver an unbiased opinion as well as aid in the discovery of some very good deals. Casual blind tasting can help you remember and recognize wine sin the future, as well as potentially adding to your connoisseurship. Accurately indentifying wines in a blind tasting isn’t fully about knowledge, but a bit of beginner’s luck, too.
restaurant wines. For one thing, only one brand in the top 10 wines of 2014 has an average price below $50. In fact, the average price for the top 10 restaurant wines hovers just around $80: the top wine, Cakebread Cellars, averages $86.48.
As you might expect, Napa Valley had an excellent showing and California actually took 36 of the top 50 slots. Oregon had three on the list and Washington had just its Chateau Ste. Michelle, but New York did not make it at all! Even France and Italy had a poor showing with only a few brands clustered toward the bottom, and Spain didn’t even break the top 25.
France has long had a reputation for focusing on drinking wine. However, according to an article recently completed for Wine Searcher, that fact has been in the process of changing in recent years. Three decades ago, the industry of microbreweries in France was on the verge of extinction. However that is in the process of changing; within recent years, the United States claimed the title of the world’s largest wine consumer, taking the title from France. In addition, figures recently reported indicate that over seventy percent of the French people consider themselves clueless in regards to wine.
The best wines come from Italy, France, Southern California… Or do they?
There’s no doubt in my mind that if you have arrived to this site you enjoy wine. The question, however, is whether you enjoy it to the full extent you are able. Are you able to apprehend the subtleties between years, between location of the grapes, the type of wine? More than likely you have tried a few. However, I would like to put forward the idea of D. T. Suzuki, that the master is a master because he approaches his subject of mastery every time as a beginner. Therefore, no matter how experienced, you will enjoy wine more when you stick to these steps and principles, and approach it by sense alone, and not with expectation.
Look at the wine. To get a better view, tilt the glass to its side and observe the color. Can you see whether it changes? Is it darker in the middle? Is it lighter on the outsides? What type of a color would you describe it with? I’ll give you a few words you can consult as necessary. Ruby, Violet, Purple, Burgundy, Pink, Rose, Amber, so on.
Christie’s, an established wine auctioning firm, turns approximately seventy five million dollars in profit a year from the sale of their products. However, according to Per Holmberg, a large portion of that is attributed to their implementation of online auctions. An article recently completed by Wine Searcher detailed the effect online wine auctions are having on the entire industry, but in particular, Christie’s wine auctions.
In a world where wine at a low price is ever more available (not a bad thing), what can we do to distinguish between the multitude of options? In this blog, I will discuss the best options under $15, and help you separate the secrets from the swill. 
When your friends arrive, display all the bottles on a table for people to see, each person should give them each an introduction so everyone knows what they are drinking. Don’t just go ahead and pour them, though, you’ll want to make sure you keep which wine it actually is a secret. Have the bottles brought back into the kitchen, and bring them out in waves so people can taste them. Alternatives, depending on how fancy you want to get: pour one or two glasses at a time, and pass them between you. You may want to number the glasses and keep a cheat sheet in the kitchen so you know what you’re working with.