Tasting Wine Blind

posted by natalya in Wine

Though there’s been a bit of debate recently about the virtues and drawbacks of blind tasting, one thing is rather certain: it’s unlikely the average consumer will ever do it. He will likely have purchased the bottle himself or received it as a gift. In either case the label will have served as the ‘face’ of the wine– its first impression. Nevertheless, in spite of the prominence of the label, most consumers will, in actuality, blind taste, at least in terms of acumen about the bottle’s contents- varietals (I, personally, know a number of people who think chardonnay and cabernet are brands), producers, vintages, and geographic origins.

Eric Asimov wrote about this very subject last week.

“Fairly or unfairly, wine experts are expected to be able to judge a wine simply by tasting what’s in the glass in the course of tasting many other wines. Personally, I feel it’s a little like judging a book by reading one chapter or one page, but you can’t do away with mass tastings altogether.

Speaking of books, why are book critics permitted to know who wrote what they are reading? Why are film critics expected to know all about the director and to use that knowledge when they judge a film? Don’t we think their objectivity will be compromised in the same way? Or is it that wine writers are not accorded the same level of respect, since the public assumes their perceptions will be compromised if they know what they are tasting?”

I hadn’t thought of the blind tasting business this way before. It got me thinking, how important is context?

Wikipedia, comes out on the other side of the debate. In its “Wine Tasting” entry it is argued that “To ensure impartial judgment of a wine, it should be served blind — that is, without the taster(s) having seen the label or bottle shape… A taster’s judgment can be prejudiced by knowing details of a wine, such as geographic origin, price, reputation, color, or other considerations.”

Bottom line: in order to judge a wine, must we know more or less about it?

Seems there are two answers. The more one knows about wine in general, the less she should know about it BEFORE she tastes it. She will meet the wine fresh, a first date. After the tasting notes are written, the myriad details of what was tasted must be revealed and integrated into the complete tasting notes. If, however, one’s a novice (and I use the term loosely here, since most of us are novices) it is helpful if she’s informed about the wine prior to tasting it. She may, for instance appreciate the fact that what she’s sipping is a pinot noir, lighter in color and tannins than her cabernet because the pinot grape is thin skinned, unlike the cabernet which has thick skin and produces a darker, more tannic wine. Or she might connect to the wine’s geographic origin in Maremma, Beaujolais or Margaret River. In her case this information adds to the richness of a multi-layered wine experience, offering up a taste of terroir and varietal.