DISGUISED WINES A REAL EYE-OPENER
EVER wondered what your friends really think of that $10 bottle of wine?
Geelong residents are taking wine tasting to the next level by holding “blind” wine parties where they taste and rate bottles without knowing how much they cost or where they are from.
Sarah O’Brien of Newtown wanted to find a way to bring her friends together and meet new people. She went to a wine tasting night and decided to formalise it — creating the Geelong Food and Wine Club.
“Everyone brings a bottle of wine and it is matched with food,” Ms O’Brien said.
“We cover the bottles in a paper bag and number them, we then have little scorecards where we would guess the variety, where it is from and the cost.”
Ms O’Brien said members were often “completely off the mark” with their guessing — thinking cheap bottles were expensive and expensive bottles were cheap.
“It is quite interesting to see what people think. People have brought varying types of wine,” Ms O’Brien said.
The club has brought old friends together and also helped members improve their wine knowledge, she said. “We have also learned different phrases like ‘full bodied’.”
Wine supplier Cellarmasters director Christine Ricketts said more Geelong residents were signing up to receive its annual case of the Tasting Panel’s six best red wines of the year, complete with everything you need for a blind tasting party — paper bags, tasting notes and instructions on how to host.
“Blind tasting wines is a great way to remove any preconceptions you may have about a specific wine variety or region. When you are blind tasting and comparing wines, it prompts you to really take note of the aromas, flavours and the texture. It can be a real eye opener into the world of wine,” Ms Ricketts said.
“Blind tasting wines is a great way to remove any preconceptions you may have about a specific wine variety or region.” CHRISTINE RICKETTS