Blind Tasting

We had a housewarming party a couple weeks ago, and decided to do a little blind tasting before. I selected 2 whites and 2 reds, concealed them in paper bags, and asked the guests to guess the varietal and/or region, and the price point. I had opened the bottles about 1.5 hours prior, so they had some time to breathe.

1. white, drinkable, tart/clean finish: Sauvignon Blanc from Chile; Trader Joe's, $2.99. People thought it was decent, maybe half the guests guessed that it was a Sauv Blanc, others guessed Reisling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio at $5.99.

2. white, similar tasting: Sauvignon Blanc from Sonoma; $13.99. I didn't actually intend on having two Sauv Blancs, but between BevMo, Costco, Trader Joe's, the aquarium/fish store (bought an awesome voracious little Betta named Walu), and cleaning the house, I somehow dropped the ball in variety of varietals. The guests were thrown off by the fact that it tasted similar because in theory it should have been a different varietal. People guessed all sorts of grapes. In fact, I think only 1 out of 10 people guessed that it was Sauv Blanc. They did think that it was more pricey than the first one.

3. Tart, acid, weak tannins: Charles Shaw "two buck chuck" Merlot, $1.99. People didn't like this wine. They thought it was flat and bland, and I agree. In terms of varietal, people were all over the map. People thought it was a Bordeaux blend, or maybe a cabernet sauv. Maybe a Zin or a cheap Pinot. When I revealed that it was 2 buck chuck, people seemed relieved, and it seemed that the price point explained the poor flavors.

4. Smooth, balanced tannins, nice fruit/crispness, very drinkable, J. Lohr Syrah, $14.99. This one was everyone's favorite, and i'm glad we finished with this one so we could have nice memories of the tasting. People had no idea what it was though. A few guests even said the "forgot about Syrah." 

In general, people weren't really confident about the varietals. If i were to have an oak-aged Chardonnay to compare to the Sauv Blanc, it might have been easier to distinguish. If I were to have a classic Cab or a spicy Zin, maybe people could've guessed those varietals. But one thing my friends did know, was which were cheaper than the others. The ones that tasted bad, or rather, didn't match well with our palates, were definitely a lower price point. I actually was expecting that we'd like some of the cheap ones and be able to say "See? It's not all about the brand/price! This $2 Chilean white is great!" But that wasn't the case. It seems the pricier ones were actually more valuable for our enjoyment...