blind tastings
I have been hosting blind tastings and posting the results for over 20 years. Usually based on a theme, such as a specific appellation or category of wine, these are normally done behind paper bags to ensure a lack of price or label bias. Each taster brings a bottle of his or her choice to the gathering, based on the given criteria.
All bottles are bagged and labeled with a number, then poured randomly. Each wine is poured into a separate glass of the same shape and size. Tasters are asked to vote for their top four bottles, and scores for all tasters are added up for our results.
Next up in our “world of” series was our comparison of six bottles of Pinot Gris from six different countries.
The...
This was our second gathering of reds from Portugal (the first was in December 2007), and although reviews were varied, none were...
With only a two week turnaround since our last tasting, we ditched the normal format in favor of bringing together a group of...
Last enjoyed in August 2006, this tasting confirmed how much we enjoy this appellation, with the top wines exhibiting excellent...
Rosso di Montalcino wines are made from the same grape as the revered wines of Brunello di Montalcino. These grapes are grown...
An astonishing five years had passed since our first Barolo Battle, which is far too long a period to go without an organized...
Just in time for year-end celebrations, we gathered six brown-bagged and numbered bottles of bubbly from around the world. The...
The last time we sampled California Syrah in this manner was in November 2007, and while they weren’t bad wines then, we...
No structured tasting this month, but we did have a three-bottle sampling of a white, rosé, and red wine from the Côtes Catalanes,...
This was the second round of the Battle of the Unusual Italian Whites (the first being in September 2009), focusing on some whites...
This was our third tasting of Catalan reds (we’ve done Priorat twice), and these wines continued to impress for their dense,...
This was only our second time tasting this category of wine (the second scuffle was for Pinot Noir), and we were not disappointed. ...
Instead of the usual format tasting, the notes below are from a recent visit to Ali & Andy’s, where the cheeses are...
April’s tasting featured the southern Rhone appellations of Gigondas and Vacqueyras, both a source of powerful wines that...
Simply a chance to get together with great friends, celebrate Ali’s birthday, eat amazing cheeses, and sample some wines...
February marked the 10th anniversary of the beginning of these tastings, so we thought it fitting to taste the same wine category...
We took a break from the structured tastings in January. Instead, we enjoyed four wines from David’s cellar, along with...
Only the second time we’ve tasted these as a group (the first was in March 2007), this tasting resulted in some impressive...
The regular format was set aside in October in favor of dinner at Ali & Andy’s. Our hosts are astonishing in their...
Taking a pause from the usual tasting format, we got together this month to celebrate both Kristin’s birthday and Ali &...
The Loire Valley in France is composed of many appellations, both large and small, so instead of focusing on one (good luck finding...
Having been nearly seven years since the first time we tasted Oregon Pinot Noirs as a group, we decided to correct this deficency...
This was only the second time we’ve had a formal tasting of these wines (the last was in December 2008), and overall they...
Having much more to offer than the last time we tasted these (back in September 2005), this group presented their potential as...