Wine For Novices: Party In a Bottle

By Dan Perkins

For those who desire more knowledge about wine but would rather experience it than read about it here is a cool way to learn. Host a Blind Tasting!

Some of the most formative knowledge I’ve gained was through blind tasting. What this does is force you to hone in on the taste and structure of the wine without being swayed by the name or the label of the wine. Many wineries spend a significant amount of money to convince you their mediocre wine is pretty good. Why? Because the costs associated with producing a bottle of wine vary little compared to the amount you'll spend for a bottle of wine. Of course there are exceptions. Cost of land, crop thinning, necessary personnel to name a few but bottles, barrels and bins are pretty much the same for everyone (don’t argue with me, I know the $ difference between Hungarian and French oak!). But tasting rooms, marketing and grocery store shelf space do not make for a better bottle of wine.

So, how do you do this Blind Tasting thingy?

First, have a focus! Your tasting should be specific. Choose to taste wines by varietal or region. Not just whites or reds and please don’t do a tasting that invites people to “bring your favorite.”

Second, know your guest list. Let’s be frank. There are those who want to know more about wine and will be interested and engaged in the experience and then there will be those who are there just to drink. Avoid those who fit into the latter category. I have seen several really good tastings ruined by obnoxious guests who make fun of the process and belittle those who are trying to learn terms like “palate” or “bouquet” by blurting through a southern accent as though they’re Larry the Cable Guy, “I don’t care it just tastes and smells real good!” Also, the size of the guest list can have a big impact on whether the tasting is a success or failure. We have found eight to twelve people are optimal. This generally means you’ll have one bottle per person allowing you to taste several wines thereby giving you a lot to compare but not too many to become confused.

Next, consider price for the wines being brought. Often people believe the best wines are the most expensive wines. Not always true! You can host a tasting of wines under $10 or have everyone bring a bottle as well as $10 or more for the host to purchase a very expensive wine like a first growth Bordeaux or a California Cult wine and compare it to the winning wine of the evening after you completed your blind tasting. Our wine tastings always consisted of a flight of whites and reds. And to keep it fair we broke down the cost like this. Each couple would bring two bottles a white and a red. On the invitation we recommended the two bottles to be in these price categories.

(a) under $10

(b) $10 - $20

You could chose to bring an (a) and (c) or two (b).

Fourth, consider a scoring method and give everyone a score sheet and pencil when you begin. When we first started doing this we followed the old standard 20 point scale but it was too confusing for most, especially since most of the scores you see today in trade reviews are on a 100 point scale; so we adopted it. Below is a sample of the score criteria we use.

#1. ( name of wine and winery )

Purchased ( location of purchase )

$ ( cost )

Color (5-10) Body (5-10) Nose (15-20) Balance (5-10) Finish (15-20)

Notes(This should be the long description of you’re impression of the wine. Note the flavors…. Cherry, chocolate, grass, butter, etc. Also, note the way it feels in the mouth, Mention the color, what it smells like and if it smells and tastes different. Anything that comes to mind that is memorable)

Taste (15-30) Score

Also, to make this more fun and what will help keep folks engaged, as well as thinking through the selection they would bring, we would give prizes away to the people who brought the overall favorite wines. These prizes were small, cool wine accessories we would find while traveling through various tasting rooms. Use your imagination.

Next, you need to make it a “blind” tasting. We would ask our guests to bring their wines in large paper bags. After my wife received them at the door she kept them in the kitchen until all had arrived and then placed each bottle in a small, paper bottle bag that would cover the whole bottle. Then removing the entire collar (not just the top) she would cork the bottle and inform me they were ready. She would keep the whites on one side of the table and the reds on another then, I not knowing the wines, would mark them with a Sharpie pen after my wife left the room; that way neither of us knew what was what and could play in the game too.

Some bullet point tips to consider.

Use similar stemware for everyone.

Have a dump bucket! A place where people can discard excess wine or wines they don’t like.

Have food and plenty of water available. Often we asked people to bring an appetizer and would also choose a food theme, like Italian, seafood, soups, etc.

Remember small pours. You’ll have plenty of time to, hopefully, enjoy a full glass when the tasting is over.

Keep it moving. Especially as the later wines are poured, for some reason people become much more social!

Finally, have fun during the reveal! After we had everyone score their favorites we would tally the score and reveal from least to most favorite. I was always surprised how much people got into this. We are a competitive species aren’t we?

The result is a better understanding of a wine which seems to please the crowd or one you particularly liked and now you know what it is, where to get it and how much it costs.

Cheers!