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.
While we have tasted Pinot Noirs from California before, this one was a gathering of only those from the Central Coast, the large...
This tasting was a revisit of the June 2004 comparison of the wines of Chablis. We must be getting a whole lot better at this,...
The second gathering in our series of tasting wine from around the globe, but focused on one grape, this was an interesting and...
The July tasting was a comparison of sparkling wines from three states in the union, with a broad array of flavors and styles. ...
While we didn’t do a full wine tasting this month, we did have a chance to sample a variety of interesting wines from David’s...
Although our second tasting of Barossa Valley Shiraz did not produce a blockbuster, “wow” wine, the group overall...
Our second Malbec tasting was long overdue in light of how much we enjoy these wines. They did not disappoint us, with the top...
The February notes for 2010 are from a small gathering at Ali and Andy’s house for some wine, cheese, and viewing of vacation...
The much anticipated Barolo Battle did not disappoint. The wines exhibited classic varietal flavors, complexity, and uncommon...
This month’s tasting was a departure from the usual format, and was a chance to compare Cabernet Sauvignons from six different...
This month’s tasting was an overview of one of Australia’s most respected wineries, with six wines from d’Arenberg.
Two...
The “Battle Of The Unusual Italian Whites” was an opportunity to taste some white wines other than the all-too-common...
The tasting titled “One of these things is not like the others” manifested itself on a few levels:
One was white,...
This month’s tasting ended with perhaps the most unusual results yet encountered during these monthly gatherings. There...
Part of the southern Burgundy region, Mâconnais whites are almost exclusively made from Chardonnay, but usually have less lofty...
Coming from specific villages or vineyard areas, Cru Beaujolais have little in common with vapid, watery Beaujolais Nouveau that...
The Barbera grape is grown in many parts of the world, but its real home is in the Piedmont region of Italy. In Italy, on the...
This was our third tasting of Washington wines, and except for one bottle, we were impressed by the depth of flavor and diversity...
The Sonoma County appellation encompasses a very large area, and includes some very prestigious sub-appellations, such as Alexander...
Like Malbec, the Carmenere grape variety was one of the original six constituents of the Bordeaux blends of France. These days,...
Along with Rioja, the Spanish wine region of Priorat is one of only two to obtain the country’s highest classification,...
For this month’s wine tasting, we sampled the wines of one of David’s favorite Australian wineries, Yalumba. The idea was...
While there are some great white and rosé Côte du Rhône wines on the market, the majority of wines available from this appellation...
Tasters were generally surprised about how diverse these wines were, having a good range of flavors and textures.
Two wines...