Skip to main content

Blind Tasting - Testing Your Skills

Lesson 21 from: Become a Great Wine Taster

Richard Betts

Blind Tasting - Testing Your Skills

Lesson 21 from: Become a Great Wine Taster

Richard Betts

buy this class

$00

$00
Sale Ends Soon!

starting under

$13/month*

Unlock this classplus 2200+ more >

Lesson Info

21. Blind Tasting - Testing Your Skills

Lesson Info

Blind Tasting - Testing Your Skills

we're gonna do a blind tasting. You guys put to use all of the knowledge gained over the last two days. Right? Let's do it. Let's do it. And then we're gonna related to this wheel, and the answer is up here. Okay? What's the first thing we dio? Let's do that. How do we look at it? These guys are doing it right, Garnett. Okay. It was going to talk about it. Talk about it. Let's do it. You're going to get it, and it looks like it's been oxidized. Great. Awesome. So, what do we know about this? A warm climate. Warm climate? Yeah, or possibly older? Possibly older Or possibly an oxidative winemaking style. Right. So you're in the Garnick spectrum, not the purple spectrum. That's good. And that's very, very important to remember. Okay. How brighter dull are Starbright cloudy, is it? It's kind of, I don't know. It is kind of dull, isn't it? Okay, so let's just call it dull instead of kind of So it's done. It's dull. Medium garnett, it fades toe What? At the rim, it's good orange, yellow. Gre...

at. And that corroborates what we said about it being what oxidation oxidized, oxidative winemaking seller Older. Okay, good. Is there a clear water band? Yes. Yes. How big is it then? It's thin. Therefore it's colder. Are warmer, warmer, warmer, warmer. Good. Right on. So it's warmer Climate. That's awesome. How about is it bubbling? No. Three sediment? No. Okay. And how about the viscosity medium? Yeah, well done. Agree? So what does that say? High sugar. So more at one point there was. Yeah. Why? We're talking temperature here at all. Are you asking me? You, uh, temperature? More sugar means in a There's no sugar left in it to be clear. Yes, right. But the because the alcohol which gave it the viscosity. You're seeing so great. Which means higher viscosity. Elevated alcohol elevated. I'll call you had more sugar. Why help him out For my not trusting my gut? I know. I just not trusting my gut out through this is actually it's hard, right? There's no crutch. Now, you know you're using method. You've learned you gotta trust it. Great. And does that agree with what we said about the Clearwater Band? It does. Yeah. Yeah, right. You said it was warm climate based on that as Well, okay, let's smell it. Was it smell like Dill does smell like dill hasn't cognito down high five guys. Right on. That's awesome. What does that tell us? American out there is American Oak. Crazy. Okay, what else do you smell? No Earth. I disagree with you, but I disagree with here. I say fundamentally disagree with your approach. Right now, I want you just to talk, because that's gonna come with taste. There's definitely Berries. I can't tell. I feel strawberries more than block. I totally agree with you. Strawberries. Okay, The the bubble gum bubble gun. Okay, So red. Big League to Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Red. Yeah. Great. Awesome. What else are those fresh fruits, or are they less friends? They're definitely less fresh or anything. Like maybe over right. Bend over. Ripe or cooked? Yep. What else do we smell, Vanessa? Red licorice. I love it. It's awesome. It's were decidedly on the red side. That's good. What else do we smell? This funky too, may impartially. Pardon? Masi gun? Yeah. Mossy for sure. That's fair. You're good at this. You'll improve, I believe. Less good. Yep. So what do you smelling? All the sweetness. I'm tryingto differentiated. I can be like a strawberry syrup. Okay, great. So I saw. Okay, this is awesome. Great. So the strawberry part I love begins consistent the other strawberry and that's consistent with this grape or one of the grapes in this bottle and we're staying on the red fruit side were. So that's good hearing a lot of that. Um, the soy sauce. So what colors of soybean at a mommy when you're ordering your what color soy sauce? Brown. Why? It's aged, oxidize. It's age, right? So it's that same thing backs. This is the really cool exchange that we're talking about when you have those personal those personal things that happened, You spit him out right there it is. And then we can look at, like what makes soy sauce? Soy sauce. I was teaching this class at one point several years ago, and woman jumped up and down, said stride apricots, dried apricots, dried apricots and is great. There was no like apricot flavor in there, but I said to her, How did they keep a dried apricot orange and the world's preservation with sulphur? Exactly. And the wind was reeking of sulfur, so that's the really cool moment when you just have these. Unhand. Just, like, let it flows conscious. So soy sauce. Absolutely. And it's oxidized, just like this. It's really important. What else? We've got Earth. The moss got oxidation. Got red fruits, cooked red fruits. American. We have American oak. Yeah, I think that's pretty good. Right? Should we taste it? Yes. You sure can. Yeah. Cool. Yeah, I love that. Even though I said I have an allergy to deal, this is the one exception I make for it. Is this wise? What do you taste? Anything seems stream of conscience. Let it out. Strawberries, strawberries, lots of strawberries. What else? Acidic. Okay, let's talk about the soil. Pardon? Yeah. Let's talk about Let's name it where the tannins rinse it up in here. Get it going is because it's a feeling. My tongue got dried out less than my gums when I switched around. So you feel it up there? You're always gonna feel it up there. Yeah, but relative to the other data points you have. Where is it you mentioned that That's what you always gonna mention, Teoh. Yes. Um, that's how you find that you like man. But the whole point medium, I think. Yeah. Medium or medium plus pardon. Tannins. Yeah, they're they're harder than the peanut. Nor was and that was medium. But are they big enough to get out of the medium camp into the medium plus camp? It's hard to say, but I think it's on the high side of medium. Let's talk about acidity. Where is the acidity? Drink it again. Okay. Everything points. I like the medium. Yeah, he just kind of goes right up the middle. Right. So, medium high sided. Medium tannin, medium acid. Where's the alcohol? You just feel it right now. Um, what medium plus? Yeah. Great. Okay. How is the length? Yeah, pretty lost it along. High, High. Higher. Long? Yep. Same. Same thing. Okay, great. What flavors do you taste? Taste a looker. Definitely. Okay. And strawberry? What else? Pardon Takes the soy in the soy. Okay. Great. Awesome. What else do we taste? Always a burnt fruit thing. Yeah. Cooked fruit cooked, right? Yeah, they're not They're not fresh. They're cooked. Yeah. Yeah, That could speak to again. Age or oxidative winemaking style. Yeah. And it's got that grass for that deal. Yes, kind of lingering right underneath it. Yeah, it does hang out in there. It's not offensive, which is good. I mean, I think that's why I'm I'm digging on it. But But it's in there. Yes, that's really worth noting. What does that tell us? American oak. Exactly. Yep. You want to do it both on the nose and the power. It's the rigour of doing it every single time. The same way. All right, how what else do you taste? You taste the mossy thing? Not necessarily, but I can still smell it, even though I don't necessarily pace it. Kind of like there's also, like, a little bit salty. Not like great punch in the face with Definitely. Yeah, it does have a little salty quality. It's very cool. What else? A clay. Almost. I'll take it. I love it. In fact, that's great. Just have a little of a clay thing. It's awesome. Anything else you want to say about it, then you have to tell you what it is. We'll see. We did this right? Pardon? Tempera Neo. That could be a good guess. Right on. What? You should work through it. I was I shoot from the hip. See what happens. You did. Okay, So how did you follow it? Walk with me. So it was a red fruit. Great. Uh, it was the okey with the American elk. We've got oak. You've got American. Yeah. And then there was just the slightest hint of the earth in there. Which means it definitely still has that earth. Great. Which leads you to temper Nia, tempranillo and garnacha. Which coming to blend in. Where, Rio, huh? It says Really like Rio, huh? From Spain. You guys feel good about that? Yeah. Any alternate conclusions? I thought ganache, But well, that's Garnett. Sha in and blend. Yeah, I was at the same same thing. Ganache or not, a potato potato. Sounds good to me. All right, So you're gonna hang your hat there on Rio, huh? I think I think that's a good place to hang. It is, in fact, this is Rio, huh? Well done, you guys. High five. Um, some for this is Lopez de Heredia. It's 2006. So almost 10 years old now. Thus the the color, and it's 65% temporal neo and 25% garnacha with a couple of the things so well done. Congratulations. That's impressive. You've learned something. You have learned something, and that's awesome. That's the point. Great. Other questions. Do you feel prepared? Toe. Go standing, conquer. Awesome. Right on. As long as you feel empowered. Toe how to better yourselves in your enjoyment of wine than I think we've succeeded.

Class Materials

bonus material

Richard Betts - Mapping Your Desires Wine Wheel.jpg
Richard Betts - Become a Great Wine Taster Presentation.pdf

bonus material

Richard Betts - Mapping Your Desires Shopping List.pdf
Richard Betts - Wines for Tasting Shopping List.pdf

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

This course was amazing. As someone who felt really intimidated by wine before, I finished the course feeling a lot more confident and excited to try out my new wine knowledge. Great instructor with great content. Would definitely recommend!

user-ab792c
 

Good course, needs to identify wines to set up tasting. It was fun to do with friends. Perfect to watch in the segments.

Anne
 

Fabulous! I've passed the Introductory Exam for the Court of Master Sommeliers, but, never ginned up (pun intended) the deductive tasting. This did it. There are several of us who purchased this course and are doing out best to re-create the tastings and memorize the map. Thanks so much for the class and for Richard Betts.

Student Work

RELATED ARTICLES

RELATED ARTICLES