For wine lovers -- and those who want to learn more about wine -- trying new producers and varietals brings never-ending enjoyment. If the choices seem daunting, however, next time you're in the market looking over the wine selections, consider holding a blind tasting.
Blind tasting wine is a good way to educate yourself about the characteristics of grape varietals and the effects that region and producer have on the final product. You can start with only two wines or several. Try comparing producers by buying a single varietal from them, e.g., which winemaker makes your preferred style of merlot? Compare regions: can you tell the difference between Santa Barbara pinot noirs and those from Carneros? What about comparing prices -- is there much difference between a seven dollar bottle of cabernet versus one that costs thirty? Or maybe you'd like to try to differentiate between wines using the same varietal of grape produced in different countries, such as a syrah made in the Rhone Valley of France compared to a shiraz made in Australia?
When comparing your anonymous wines make notes. Compare color, clarity, body, the bouquets (how they smell), mouth feel, how 'hot' the wine is (the higher the alcohol content, the 'hotter' it tastes), and your plain simple enjoyment of the wines. Obviously the more you know about the characteristics of a varietal, the better you'll be at identifying it, e.g., the cat spray smell of some sauvignon blancs, or the musty, manure-like aroma in French burgundies. Practice will sharpen your nose and your palate and you'll soon not only be able to recognize what you're tasting, but appreciate all the subtle nuances you missed when you knew exactly what wine was in your glass before you tasted it.
