Doing it Blind!
I recently had to put together a tasting for 40 professionals between 25 to 40 years of age with a broad cross section of experience with wine. We had to keep it simple, casual, fun and also educational. Here’s what we did…….
6 brackets of 2 wines set out on tables, all completely masked so the identities of the wines were not known. Bowls of Smarties were on the tables with an empty cup in front of each wine.
Bracket 1 - 2 x Bubbles
Bracket 2 - 2 x Dry whites
Bracket 3 - 2 x Chardonnay
Bracket 4 - 2 x Pinot Noir
Bracket 5 - 2 x Shiraz dominant Reds
Bracket 6 - 2 x Cabernet Sauvignon.

All were given a glass and set this simple task….
- Start at bracket 1 and work your way through to bracket 6.
- Keep it to a quick small taste of each wine. No wimping out, you must try every bracket!
- In each bracket vote for the wine you ‘Like’ the best by placing a Smartie in the cup in front the wine. No wimping out you must vote!
- Don’t dawdle or complicate it, just make that simple decision and move on.
- Remember no one is right or wrong, just pick a favourite!

The wines were revealed as
Bracket 1
Mumm Cordon Rouge NV $64.99
Maison de grand Esprit ‘Les Petite Vignettes’ Cremant de Bourgogne NV $24.99 (only $21.99 here!)

Bracket 2
The Accomplice Semillon Sauvignon Blanc 2010 $5.99 ($5.50 bargain here)
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2010 $32.99 (2011 vintage $29.99 here)

Bracket 3
The Marquise Chardonnay 2010 $21.99 (only $20 here)
Petaluma Chardonnay 2008 $49.99

Bracket 4
El Nino Yarra valley Pinot Noir 2010 $18.99
Coldstream Hills Pinot Noir 2010 $29.99 (check out our Pinot Pack!)

Bracket 5
Johnny Q Shiraz 2008 $13.99 ($10.60 buy here!)
Penfolds Bin 389 Shiraz Cabernet 2002 $89.99 (only $59.99!)

Bracket 6
Wynns ‘Sidings’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2009 $18.99
Wynns ‘Davis’ Cabernet Sauvignon 2008 $44.99

The results in summary…..
Bracket 1
The Mumm was a pretty clear winner here, although the Cremant certainly had some fans. The most dominant opinion in favour of the Mumm amongst the group was relating to its extra depth & richness through the finish, certainly to be expected with Champagne. The group was very pleased with the result of them having ‘Champagne’ taste!
Bracket 2
The surprise packet! Although a fairly close result, the obvious winner here was the little Accomplice SSB. An interesting result, yet it was maybe a bit predictable. Why did this iconic Kiwi Sauv fail to runaway with victory over this little cheapy?
The main reason for the lack of support for the Cloudy Bay was its bouquet that put people off initially. Although this is maybe understandable, as our cousins from across the ditch have that very distinctive regional pungency on the nose. This exercise certainly demonstrates our forgiveness of it when we know what we have in the glass. It was funny to watch the room return in mass too the Cloudy for another look in a far more forgiving way once they knew what it was. It is always a classy Kiwi Sauv but maybe it has to be put into context for a lot of people.
 The Accomplice managed to pull off the win on the night with one major characteristic – Simplicity. It’s light, bright, clean and refreshing in an uncomplicated user friendly style. It is what it is! And isn’t trying to be anything fancy, it does over deliver in the value stakes for an excellent kitchen quaffer.
Bracket 3
The battle of the Chard’s was a comfortable win to the Marquise Chardonnay. It’s cooler climate linear palate with more grapefruit/white peach/nectarine like fruit with just a lick of creaminess for complexity was not as confronting as the more robust and seriously textured and oaked Petaluma. Both Chards were well received but the Marquise stylistically more than the Petaluma demonstrated why more people are turning back to this noble variety; it certainly drinks a lot better than its price point.
Bracket 4
The battle of the Pinot’s was a reasonably close affair but the Coldstream Hills was eventually the winner over the cheaper El Nino. It’s interesting that with the knowing they were looking at two Pinot's, unlike the dry whites, the room was looking for complexity. As much support that the El Nino got, the more positive votes for the Coldstream Hills were backed up by comments on it having a bit more palate weight and complexity.
Both wines were very well received and there was a general opinion that people would have been happy to spend a few more dollars quoted on both the wines.
Bracket 5
Although we and a constantly growing number of customers are big fans of the Johnny Q Shiraz for really over delivering for the price; it was like sending a lamb to slaughter with the Bin 389 2002. The class and quality of the 389 stood out like the proverbial…. Now 6 years since release this wine is in a really happy place at the moment. Still showing some vibrancy of fruit yet the tannins are wonderfully integrated and silky at the moment. It should last for another decade but this showing confirms my belief that a 6-8 year drinking window is where the majority get the most enjoyment from their Penfolds reds. Don’t make the common mistake and leave them tucked away for too long, pull one out occasionally and see where your optimum drinking window is, don’t just take the winemakers or a critics word for it. Make up your own mind.
Bracket 6
And finally the two Wynns Cabernets; this was the only bracket with the same producer showing to wines of the same variety but with different price points. As a winery, you would always prefer for a crowd to recognize the lift in quality as the price is increased, and thus Wynns would be happy with the result. The ‘Sidings’ Cabernet certainly got some votes and was well received by all but the class of the ‘Davis’ certainly shone through to most. The overall comments on the wines were very positive and the approachability and ripeness of the fruit and tannins for 2 young Coonawarra Cabernets was a talking point. This certainly indicates that Wynns are heading in the right direction and will hopefully lead the Coonawarra region to better things.

In summary
An entertaining fun night was had by all involved. These tastings are not about testing abilities or trying to trick anyone, it is purely a demonstration of ‘how’ we should taste and make buying decisions with all our wines; do I like it or don’t I? It’s not complicated!
The fun banter and the willingness of people tasting to stand up and support their decisions made the night more engaging, fun and casual. More importantly it also demonstrated another key point in making your buying decisions; When given the opportunity, make up your own mind and don’t let anyone, a brand or a label tell you what you should and shouldn’t like! Make up your own mind!

Cheers

Andrew