Tasting wines blind may not always be the right way to judge wines. But it is invariably fascinating.
I contributed a short piece to Forbes.com about wines that could serve as “ringers” in a blind tasting. Have you ever organized a blind tasting at home (or professionally) and thrown in a “ringer”? Or if you haven’t, which wine would you put in which lineup as a ringer in a future tasting?
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On November 2nd, 2009 at 1:12 pm ,Kevin wrote:
I’d put up Roederer Estate L’Ermitage up against pricier cousins from Champagne and Eroica Single Berry Select against comparable dessert wines from Europe.
On November 2nd, 2009 at 1:35 pm ,Chris S. wrote:
We had a blind tasting and threw in a Marsala. Most everyone there did not know wine very well, and voted it best of the tasting. It really proved the “new wine drinkers like sweet wines” stereotype.
On November 2nd, 2009 at 2:51 pm ,Dave wrote:
I had a blind tasting with 15 wines ranging in value from $15 to $65. For fun I threw in a wine called “Big Moose Red” which I bough for under $3. 3 out of 8 people had it in top 3 wines.
On November 2nd, 2009 at 3:21 pm ,Kevin wrote:
I always put ringers in our blind tastings – but most often they’re a low-cost control wine. We’ve certainly had some shockers blind, no question.
On November 2nd, 2009 at 3:45 pm ,Benito wrote:
Whenever you’ve got a lineup of blind sparkling wines, it’s always fun to put a bottle of Gruet from New Mexico in the bunch. Not only is it a great wine but the “reveal” is a big surprise.
On November 2nd, 2009 at 4:17 pm ,tyler wrote:
I’ve put ringers in too — usually a low-cost alternative. One tasting my friends and I had was “all Cab around $50” blind tasting, and I provided Casa Lapostolle’s least expensive cab (at $15), while subsidizing my fiancee’s Silver Oak Napa (at $90), just to see how people would deal with wine out of price-point.
She was greatly concerned when my “cheap” Lapostolle was preferred to her vastly more expensive cult wine, even though the “winner” of the night was Ghost Block (Lapostolle had to settle for second place).
On November 2nd, 2009 at 6:31 pm ,Abraham wrote:
Here is a crazy thought, what about a reverse ringer? As in a blind tasting of pinots between 20-40 dollars, and throw in a DRC (I realse this example is not the most realistic!). I imagine (would hope) the DRC would win, but would it win by miles and be hailed as something outer worldly if not known before hand? Any thoughts?
On November 2nd, 2009 at 6:34 pm ,Charlie Olken wrote:
I recently stuck Roederer Estate Brut Rose’, Anderson Valley, non-vintage, $25 (approx) into a tasting of non-vintaged Rose’ Champagnes at $45-$85.
It finished in the middle and was indistiguishable from the Champagnes. Most people thought the Mumm Brut Rose’ was the CA wine because it was the fruitiest wine in the tasting. I picked out the CA wine, but then I knew that the CA was Roederer, and Roederer Anderson Valley bubblies are always high in acidity.
The CA wine was one-half to one-third the price of the French bubbles. Try it yourself. With CA bubblies now high in acidity and minerality, because of where they are grown, the differences at the non-vintage level seem to favor CA by a wide margin when price is factored in.
Incidentally, we tossed in an expensive Italian bubbly in another flight and it got hammered. Regardless of the increased attention being paid to Italian bubbly, they seem to have long way to go. Had an Il Follo Rosato in an Italian restaurant recently (it did have local wines as well) and it tasted like strawberry soda with yeast.
I do not often toss in ringers in my commercial tastings but I love to do it with my friends.
On November 2nd, 2009 at 6:55 pm ,The Wine Mule wrote:
Bubbly: Hubert Clavelin “Cremant du Jura.” All chardonnay, and it will pass for Champagne.
Pinot Noir: Vajra Langhe Rosso 2007. This will win, once in a great while. A blend of nebbiolo, barbera, dolcetto, and freisa.
Bordeaux: Achaval Ferrer Finca Mirador 2001.
On November 2nd, 2009 at 7:09 pm ,Austin Beeman wrote:
Not a big fan of blind tastings. It is too much like judging a person based on how they are dressed. History, age, price, label, and appropriate food pairing add so much to the wine experience. Plus some wines SHOW better than others. It doesn’t make them better wines.
On November 3rd, 2009 at 9:11 am ,Charles wrote:
’82 Mas de Daumas in an ’82 Bordeaux tasting. Never fails!
On November 4th, 2009 at 2:37 pm ,Dylan wrote:
I think blind tastings can be loads of fun. I don’t know if it was here, Tyler, or some other blog, but there was a great video of John Cleese hosting a blind tasting for friends. It makes it a bit of a game and everyone has a laugh at the reveal.
On November 5th, 2009 at 5:48 pm ,Dan wrote:
I hosted a blind tasting of wines from the Jumilla region of Spain and threw in both Sierra Carche and Pico Madama as ringers-in-reverse without telling anyone. They were not undrinkable, but both scored at the bottom of the pack for just about everyone there. The Clio won, although was not the favorite of everyone. Some preferred the much cheaper Juan Gil or Finca Luzon.
On November 6th, 2009 at 2:07 pm ,Xian wrote:
I agree with the Gruet ringer – it’s my low-cost bubbly of choice for big events.
Also, its not available here, but I’ve thrown in an Australian zinfandel (Cape Mentelle) into “Big Zin” tastings.