Posts Tagged ‘Blindverkostung’

Wing Lei Blind Wine Tasting

April 09th, 2008 by Sébastien Gavillet

Another blind wine tasting came to pass.  This time, it was held at Wing Lei, the Chinese restaurant at the Wynn Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.  The Wing Lei’s stunning décor provided a perfect foil to the wine tasting event.  Diego, Wing Lei’s sommelier, graciously welcomed all of us.  Master Sommelier William Sherer of Aureole Las Vegas, the event’s mainstay Master of Ceremonies, presided over the tasting proceedings.

All French Reds Allowed except the Most Popular Red Wines

This blind tasting was all about French red wines, but there was a twist.  All French red wines were welcome except Bordeaux, Burgundy and Cotes du Rhone.  Now what kind of wine tasting is that?  A great one, if you ask me, as it put everyone’s knowledge to test.  Due to the stipulation that the popular French red wines be excluded from this tasting, we were left mainly with selections from Alsace, Loire Valley, Languedoc-Roussillon, South West of France, Corsica and Provence – in other words, French red wines we rarely drink.  For me, it was this that made the Wing Lei blind tasting very interesting.

Placing Wines in Blind Tasting

In a blind wine tasting, you need to recognize particular characteristics or aromas if you are to successfully place a wine.  For example, if you smell the aromas of strawberry, raspberry and rose in a particular wine, you’ll have to place each of the aromas in turn.

You know that strawberry is an aroma that is characteristic of Loire Valley and Languedoc-Roussillon wines.  Raspberry is another scent that is present in all Loire Valley and Languedoc-Roussillon wines.  Based on the aromas of strawberry and raspberry, therefore, you can say that the wine can come from either Loire Valley or Languedoc-Roussillon.

The rose aroma is the deciding scent.  If you know that the scent of flowers like rose and violet are a characteristic of Loire Valley wines but not of Languedoc-Roussillon wines, you will be able to make the correct call:  the wine can only come from the Loire Valley.

This process of elimination sounds simple.  However, it takes lots of practice to perfect this strategy – hence the importance of taking the time to train your nose.  This is, in fact, only a small part of the methodology I use when trying to place wines at blind tasting events.  The wine’s color, viscosity, and alcohol content, among others, also have to be assessed and evaluated, especially when you cannot decide based on the aromas alone.

A Blind Wine Tasting Exercise

The following is a small exercise that explains how I evaluated and placed a particular wine at the Wing Lei blind wine tasting:

A practical breakdown of a new wine:

Red wine, ruby color, pink rims, medium viscosity, clear, bright with aromas of blackberry, raspberry, clove, dark chocolate and smoke, meaty in mouth with medium plus to plus acidity, not quite balanced

Wine Analysis:

  • Red wine, ruby in color with pinkish rims, clear, and bright:  these characteristics put this wine in a 2004 to 2005 vintage bracket
  • Clove, dark chocolate and smoke:  these characteristics suggest that this wine is of the Languedoc-Roussillon wine region
  • Blackberry:  this hints that the wine is probably a blended wine, possibly a blend of Carignan and/or Syrah varietals and quite possibly some Grenache grapes, too
  • Meaty in mouth with medium to medium plus acidity:  these characteristics suggest that this may be a wine from the Corbieres AOC

Result:

2004 Sainte Eugenie

AOC:  Corbieres (Languedoc-Roussillon)

In a nutshell, that is how it’s done.

The next Tuesday night blind wine tasting has been scheduled.  It will feature classic wines from all over the world.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to make it to that tasting as I have wine tasting events to attend in Switzerland and Italy.

I will update you on my trip soon.  That’s all for this wine tasting!  Cheers!

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Chardonnay Blind Wine Tasting at Marché Bacchus

March 17th, 2008 by Sébastien Gavillet

Chardonnay was the focus of this blind wine tasting, which was hosted by Jeff Wyatt, owner of the hip, off-the-strip restaurant Marché Bacchus.  The location was wonderful.  We were surrounded by thousands of wine bottles; it was truly the perfect setting for a wine tasting.

To start the event, the participants gathered at the kitchen bar where William Sherer ordered the first glass of wine poured.  William Sherer, Master Sommelier, is the wine director of Aureole in Las Vegas; he is also the designated Maître de Cérémonie of the bimonthly blind tastings that Aureole organizes and sponsors.  After all the wines have been poured and accounted for, we began our task:  tasting and enjoying the wines.

Virtual Wine Tasting Tour

We went on a virtual wine trip as the Chardonnay for this blind wine tasting came from all over the world.  We visited Sonoma County, Chablis (Burgundy), Casablanca Valley (Chile), Macon (Burgundy), Treiso (Italy), and Austria.  We finished the evening with a Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru (Burgundy).

Like the Vox Wine Lounge wine tasting event, the Marché Bacchus tasting was no simple blind tasting.  I had to focus so hard on the aromas so I could assess the wines’ regional origin.  As expected, things got really tough at times.

Wine Review and Wine Tasting Notes:  Austrian Chardonnay

The Chardonnay from Austria was one of the evening’s most interesting and challenging wines.  As far as I can recall, I’ve never had Chardonnay from Austria before this tasting; this made the task of geographically placing this Austrian wine even more difficult.

Wine tasting notes:  This straw golden wine had a brilliant, almost oily texture and medium plus viscosity.  It presented the aromas of mango, guava and passion fruit.  There was a hint of sulphur on the nose (not in a faulty context) and the balanced flavors of oak, vanilla, lees, and furfural.  It had the typical acidic characteristic of cold-climate wine (medium plus acidity).  This Prager also had nice complexity and a pleasant, lingering finish.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that the event was a Chardonnay wine tasting, I would have thought this Austrian wine was a Riesling blend due to its noticeable mineral (flint) content, acidity and tropical fruit aromas.  Needless to say, I was not able to trace the wine to Austria.

Tip:  This Chardonnay from Austria is a great buy if you can find it.  Keep it in mind the next time you dine at Aureole.

Want to learn more about the other wines we sampled at the Marché Bacchus blind wine tasting?  Just email me.  I made wine tasting notes on most of the wines featured and will be glad to furnish you a copy.

The next blind tasting is set for the midnight of March 25, another Tuesday, although the location is yet to be determined.  The focus will be ANY French red wines EXCLUDING Burgundy, Bordeaux and Rhône Valley wines!  This ought to be an interesting tasting and, for those who will be attending, surprise us!

That’s all for this wine tasting.  Until next time!  Cheers!

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Vox Wine Lounge Blind Wine Tasting

February 29th, 2008 by Sébastien Gavillet

Two blind wine tastings in one day is almost too good to be true.  Apart from the Dierberg & Star Lane blind tasting which I discussed in the previous post, I also participated in the Vox Wine Lounge blind wine tasting.

Twice a month (every other Tuesday night), William Sherer, Master Sommelier and wine director of Aureole in Las Vegas, organizes a blind wine tasting for wine industry professionals.  Most of the participants to these blind tastings are master sommeliers, wine buyers and wine aficionados.  These events follow a set format.  At every tasting, one type of grape varietal or wine style is featured, and each of the participants must bring a bottle of the selected grape varietal or wine style.  The blind tastings are held on a different venue every time.

This week, the blind tasting was held at the Vox Wine Lounge in Henderson, NV.  Patrick Pretz, Vox’s sommelier, played host.  We owe him a great thank you for his wonderful hospitality.

The Blind Tasting Format

The Vox Wine Lounge blind tasting was different from all the other blind tastings I’ve been to.  I have participated in numerous blind tastings before and, in such events, the participants usually sampled and examined the featured wines then shared and compared tasting notes afterwards.  The Vox Wine Lounge tasting followed a different procedure, however.

Each of the participants was given a specific role at the wine tasting.  Every one had to examine, describe and analyze only one aspect of the featured wines be it color, nose (aromas & bouquet), taste (aromas), structure, origin, vintage, or producer.  For instance, one taster would sample a wine and assess it according to his aspect assignment (e.g. color); another taster would then sample the same wine and assess it according to the aspect assigned him (e.g. assess where the wine came from); and yet another taster would sample the same wine and evaluate it on yet another aspect (e.g. structure).  The whole thing sounds complicated, I know, but you’ll be surprised at how much fun this type of blind tasting can be.

Wine Tasting Results

The Vox Wine Lounge blind wine tasting was very successful.  It was very entertaining and, more importantly, very educational.  One truly learns a lot by working in a group and sharing knowledge and expertise with others.  In fact, working in a group also means greater accuracy as everyone benefits from the expertise of the other participants.

As a case in point, at the Vox Wine Lounge blind tasting, the group was able to guess the correct vintage of 60 percent of the 14 wines sampled.  More amazingly, the group accurately pinpointed the geographical origin of 95 percent of the wines.  Of the 95 percent, 50 percent was traced back to the correct region or area, 20 percent to the precise AOC or AVA and 15 percent to the actual wine producer.  The only two wines we failed to place were a Pinot Noir Cava (sparkling wine) from Argentina and a Pinot Noir from the Loire Valley in France.

My Vox Wine Lounge wine tasting experience definitely proves that one always learns more about a wine’s characteristics when discussing it openly with other wine professionals.

Get Set for the Next Blind Wine Tasting

The next blind wine tasting will be held on March 11th, 2008, Tuesday, at the Marché Bacchus in Summerlin.  The grape varietal for that tasting will be Chardonnay, and the wines can come from anywhere in the world.  Be creative and bring something everyone can enjoy.

That’s all for this wine tasting.  Cheers!

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Dierberg & Star Lane Vineyards Blind Wine Tasting

February 29th, 2008 by Sébastien Gavillet

Nevada Wine Agents presented a California blind wine tasting event at the Company American Bistro in Luxor Las Vegas.  What a beautiful location!  My compliments go out to the chef for preparing and serving us such mouth-watering hors d’oeuvres at the wine tasting.

The Dierberg & Star Lane Vineyards organized this blind wine tasting.  Five well-known Californian Cabernets were featured.  Naturally, this tasting was held to promote Dierberg & Star Lane wines and to show that their wines can compete against the wines of some of California’s most “reputable” wineries or winemakers.  Around 20 sommeliers and wine industry professionals attended the event.

At the end of the blind wine tasting, the Star Lane Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 got the no. 2 spot although, on a price-quality scale, this cabernet sauvignon outperformed the rest and ranked first; at a third of the price of the other wines featured at the tasting, the Star Lane Cabernet Sauvignon definitely makes for a great buy.  The first place went to the Hourglass Cabernet 2004.  The Caymus 2003, the 100 Acres 2004 and the Opus One 2003 ranked 3rd, 4th and 5th, respectively.

Personal note on blind tasting: When blind tastings are performed for the purpose of comparing wines of the same varietal and region, I like to see a more horizontal selection.  In my opinion, all of the wines featured at this blind wine tasting should have been of the same year as Star Lane’s Cabernet Sauvignon (2005).

That’s all for this wine tasting!  Cheers!

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