Recently, Marla, who I sometimes tease as THE Chardonnay Queen (CQ), celebrated a milestone birthday.
Yes, I concur with all of you. What is that woman’s skincare routine! But that’s for another blog. Today, we’re going to analyze one of her birthday presents - an at-home chardonnay wine tasting.
I thought long and hard about what to buy my mother for her birthday. At first, I thought of a gift basket, but that seemed too impersonal. Then, I thought about taking her out for a meal, but we already do that. What we don’t do very often is wine taste testing. Eureka! I knew that she’d love that. Time for a blind wine taste test!
I then needed to determine the format for the wine tasting: would our wine tasting focus on varietals from different wine regions and CQ would need to match the wine with the region the wine came from, or would I have several different wines from the same region and CQ would need to match the wine with the varietal?
Ultimately, I thought that it would be fun to have CQ complete a wine tasting where I provided her with six different chardonnay wines, from different regions around the country and world, and see if she could match the wine to the region.
This is not the first time that I’ve challenged my mother to a blind wine taste test. But over the years we’ve discovered how to make a wine tasting more enjoyable and run more smoothly. Here are three lessons learned for a successful at-home blind wine tasting, whether for one person or a party.
1. Keep the Degree of Difficulty in Mind
While a blind wine taste testing is meant to be fun, one lesson I learned is that for a successful blind wine taste testing don’t make it so easy that it’s over right away nor so hard that people get frustrated.
For example, unless you’re dealing with wine aficionados, have at least a few of the wines be more recognizable varietals. The last time I hosted a blind wine taste testing for CQ, I included a couple of esoteric wines that at the time she had never tasted before and was never going to guess correctly. She didn’t mind (one purpose of the tasting was to introduce her to a few new wines) but some people may not like that, especially if the taste testing is with a larger crowd.
2. Have a Designated Person Label and Identify the Wines
There needs to be some method to track which wine is which. To ensure that CQ wouldn’t be able to pull any fast ones, I sent her out of the room for the pouring process. I then assigned each wine to a wine glass with specific markings. Should you not have wine glasses, any other type of cup will do.
For our tasting, I used wine glasses bearing different insignia, and one that was blank. For larger parties, you can just use one glass for each person, and it’s common to simply put different wines in numbered bags or cover the labels in foil.
The element that is of utmost importance is that you are able to keep track of which wine your taster(s) is consuming. Otherwise, you can’t keep score!
3. Enable Notetaking
Some people are adept at remembering what they’ve tasted without writing it down. But it’s harder to compare the wines you’re trying to identify that way. As with most wine tasters, CQ began her tasting by focusing on the colors and aromas first. Then, she tasted a sip of each and repeated the process several times.
CQ took copious notes on a notepad, obviously, CQ decries the modern technology of the Notes section on her iPad and iPhone. If you want to take this further, you can create wine scorecards or download free printable ones from the internet that the tasters can use.
As we’ve reported previously, Mom did pretty well. I was impressed!
How do you think you would have done if you completed this wine tasting? Would you surpass CQ - or fall well short? Let us know and we’ll see once and for all if anyone can dethrone THE Chardonnay Queen. We’re at info@winewithourfamily.com.
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