With a group? By yourself? Do you go fast or take your time? Do you prefer someone with experience, or a novice? How do you like to taste wine? Personally, I prefer a blindfold. Ok, I'll stop there. But I will say that there is a fair bit of pleasure when blind tasting wine... and after my third Malbec in a row, a touch of pain. It's more than just a party trick to impress your friends. I can assure you it's not a magic trick and it's not even brain surgery. It's a skill that anyone can learn, but I warn you... you're going to have to spit... I mean drink... let's say taste a lot of wine in order to really master the art of blind tasting.
Why even do it in the first place? First off ,there is no actual blindfold in blind tasting. In fact, our sight is one of the most important senses when tasting wine. Pouring the wine into a glass so that you can't see the bottle eliminates all prejudice and pretentiousness that's often associated with wine. There are so many distractions and if we're really going to understand a wine we need to remove any preconceived notions or judgements we may have. It doesn't matter what the label looks like, or who made the wine, or from what part of the world it hails. There is something to admire, appreciate, or learn from every single glass of wine and blind tasting is the best way to get at it's core. It's just you and a glass of grape juice. All you have are your senses, your memory, and hopefully a wealth of wine knowledge to connect all the pieces of the puzzle.
There are over 50 different elements of wine that we look for when blind tasting. I'm not going to get into everything here but I'll give you an idea. What do you see? Any bubbles? Floating bits? That may have just eliminated 75% of the wines out there. You're on your way. What about color? Here's a tip: White wines get more color as they age and red wines are the opposite as the color fades with age. Now swirl. It's not a contest to see how fast you can spin a glass of wine without spilling a drop. Just give the glass a little shake or swirl but no need to pull a muscle. The wine has literally been asleep for a number of years. It just needs to wake up. Ever hear the term "Nice legs"? Now, ever hear that term in reference to your wine? If you swirl a glass of water all the liquid just slides down the sides of a glass. Wine doesn't do that and clings to the side of the glass because of two things, sugar and alcohol. That glass of wine with legs slowly dripping down the side tell me more than you can imagine. Now smell. Please don't strain your body to sniff as hard as you possibly can because you'll end up with a headache worse than a 7-11 Slurpee brain freeze. Nose at the top of the glass, few short sniffs, that's all you need. So you're telling me that you can't detect the subtle hints of kaffir lime, bergamot oil, or Ethiopian coffee beans? It doesn't matter. Stop trying to put so much pressure on yourself to say the exact word or fruit to describe a wine. Start with categories. Orchard fruits like apples and pears. Citrus fruits like limes and lemons. Tropical fruits like pineapple and passion fruit. Red berries like strawberries and raspberries. Black fruit like plums and blackberries. That's it. Once you're in the right camp, you've almost nailed it. Now take it a step further, but remember, don't try to force these descriptions and come up with the one perfect response. Use your memory to transport yourself to another time and place where you might have come across these same aromas. Cooking Christmas dinner. Standing outside during the rain. Walking through a farmer's market. Roasting marshmallows by the campfire. Find an emotional connection to the glass in front of you and the words will just come. All of this even before taking a sip, and I bet you already have a pretty good idea about the wine.
Maybe it is just a trick you use to impress friends, or maybe you're studying for the Master Sommelier exam. Tasting blind takes it to a whole new level that gets to the very essence of the grape, the land, and the people that go into making the wine. It's an understanding of geography, history, climate, and a cultural tradition that transcends each sip. You never hear about your sense of hearing but that's really what it's all about. Every wine has a story to tell and it literally is jumping out of the glass trying to tell you. You just have to listen. Listen to the acidity and alcohol in a wine and if it tells you that it has oak, please don't ignore it. Wines will not lie as long as your senses are alert and listening.
But why do we really do it? Why do we stay past midnight at the restaurant after a long shift or spend our one day off talking shop and tasting wine? People ask me all the time what's the best way to learn more about wine. Well the answer is to surround yourself with other passionate lovers... of wine. At every level of wine there are other people just like you, eager to learn and taste and talk about wine. Get a group together and just taste wine. Cover the labels. Don't cover the labels. See where you feel conformable and do what you enjoy. Wine is a social creature and it's best served when surrounded by friends. Taste with a group and I promise you that you'll learn and appreciate that much more about the wine in your glass. It doesn't matter of you "don't fucking drink merlot," or think a buttery chardonnay is best served at 5 p.m. with a couple of ice cubes. We all taste wines for different reasons but hopefully at the top of our list is pleasure.
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