I'm rather embarrassed to ask this question. I'm having difficulty identifying varietals in blind tasting situations, especially with some of the more robust reds. Did anyone else here struggle with that as a wine newbie? If so, what did you do to improve your palate, if you will. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

KC

Drink more, taste more, it will get relatively easy eventually.

i agree. i had the very same problem which does go away with practice. what i can't necessarily identify is the meritage wines, i have difficulty determining which is the predominant grape in some of the bordeaux blends, eg., merlot/cab. i doubt i'd be able to tell cab franc/petite verdot, mourvedre additions to these wines either.

I think Jones is right....keep drinking.

Experience is the best education. There are a few helpful books (A. Immer's intro book is pretty good). Some careful tastings will go a long way to giving you confidence on those items that you have studied.

Another thing is to not get too caught up initially with trying to be a junior sommelier. That experience only comes with time. Have fun!!!

1st, welcome.

Easy... I don't know about that Jones. There are times that I have an easier time picking out the Grape-variety & do quite well. But, there are other times where I get them all wrong. it depends.

But, that is correct. The best way is experience (like anything else in life). Drink different Wines from different countries, different regions, different styles. And, keep repeating, & repeating, & repeating. I know, tough job but someone has to do it. That's the fun part, right?

You will start to memorize/remember certain qualities/tastes/preferences & boom...there is a time where you are @ a blind tasting & you say, "this is a ....".

Concentrate on the Aroma, the flavors, & ultimately the "finish". And, guaranteed that there will come a time when you will determine the correct grape.

Have fun...& it is...

Don't forget to use your eyes too. That can be a big hint. I haven't missed one yet picking out if the wine is red or white

Oh yes, smell everything. Especially at the grocery store. Spend time on the fruit aisle. Learn those smells as many of them are clearly identified with certain varietals.

Hit the spice aisle, especially at those stores that sell in bulk.

You might be careful when you inhale the cumin though!

davidn: You certainly have a point. It is very easy to tell a Pinot from a Cab. Or a Chard from a Burg (for the most part). So, sometimes, that can give you a hint. And, when you taste it, you can confirm it & apply the process of elimination (like in school).

Be careful not to beat yourself up too much about this. People with incredible palates (and palate memory) can do pretty well at this, but for most of us it is hard. I’ve been to many double blind tastings with “experts” and watched them get 25% or less correct. I’ve even tried tastings with Black glasses and couldn’t even get the red and white straight.

Many wines have strong varietal characteristics and those you can learn. But there are a lot of wines that will just fool you.

In this day and age of huge, alcoholic, very extracted fruit-driven reds (esp from Napa), I find it tough distinguishing varieties blind often.

Two days ago I had a 2000 Turley Juveniles.......every red variety crossed my mind before finally settling on Syrah. Way off.

A few months ago in a Sacramento tasting (Capitol Cork Dorks), I was 100% certain I had a great Zin. Nope, Cabernet Sauvignon.

When you consider that a grape is so ripe that it's jammy, a jammy Cabernet, Syrah, and Zin can be difficult to distinguish at least for me.

But again this mainly pertains to really ripe, full-bore, well-oaked reds that more often than not seem to come from Napa.

-Vitis Vinifera in Lodi

I'm really not very good at this yet. But I've taken everyone's advice and taste / smell everything I can and drink all the wine I can. Figure I have to get better at some point. If not, I'm still having a lot of fun.

I find it much more easy to pick varietals in white wine tastings. At the same time I find it easier to rate red wines.

The best thing for you to do is drink wines of diffrent varietal side by side and find the diffrences. First try them blind, then reveal the bottles and study, then mix them up and try them blind again. You will no what to look for the second time. There is a lot that can be learned about wine this way. Later you can use this same technique to discover diffrences in the same grape grown in diffrent regions.

As has been said not all wines are varietally correct. Some wine makers use a heavy hand in vinification and create wines that do not taste at all like they are supposed to.

If you're relatively new to wine I wouldn't worry about it too much. The only time I can think this would be really important is if a) You're studying for your Master Sommelier, or b) You're tasting wine either professionally or on a semi-pro basis.

Vitis is right. With today's styles (the Parkerization of red wine), it's hard to tell. I'll always remember that one of the nicer Burgundies I've had turned out to be a Cote Rotie from a lighter year!

Taste blindly at home. I have been doing this at least once a week. I have my wife, who understands my cellar as well as I, select a wine for dinner and if a red, decant it before I get home from the office. If a white, the label is well covered. After many many incorrect "guesses", I am improving. Experience is the answer. You evaluate a wine more critically (sometimes too critically) when you taste blindly at home. Try it.

Dick

I save blind tastings for get togethers with friends and you wine-os. But it is hard, especially at first. But soon, you will be able to discern the differences. Sometimes there will be wines that totally fool you, though.

KC, don't be embarrassed about having difficulty identifying different red variatals. I find it difficult and a lot of other people do too. Whites are much easier for me. It may be easier to identify the first few red wine variatals, but I have found that after tasting a bunch of red wines, it is easy to develop palate fatigue. It was suggested to me, and I find that it helps, to drink water in between to help cleanse the palate. I don't know how professional wine critics do it. They really have a special talent, in my opinion.

I'll jump in late and agree with others have said about tasting often. I think I've learned more about wine in the past 6 months than I did in the entire 3 years I've been "into" wine.

Joining a wine club, or creating your own, is also a great way to learn from other's expertise. And so is this forum.

Ace, welcome. And, the Water suggestion is also a good 1.

Having fretted over and struggled through many blind tasting exams, this topic has become a sore point for me. Blind tasting is an excellent way to judge a wine with no preconceptions but people place way to much emphasis on picking varietals and geographies.

To me, that is nothing more than a good party trick. Like pulling the table cloth off without disturbing the china.

What is important for the average wine consumer is 1) do you like the wine and 2) does it enhance what your are doing/eating? Third would be the ability to determine if the wine is flawed. Picking the varietal is a distant 4th.

Even for the wine "professional", the real skill is to be handed a 98 Napa Cab and all the preconceptions that go along and then decide whether it is a good expression of the varietal, location and vintage.

I think this is very difficult. And, personally, I think it can get harder as wines age.

Just a warning.. a good wino is never satisfied. First you say you want to pick the varietal.. THEN you will want to be able to pick the region... THEN you will want to be able to pick the vintage.... THEN the producer. Never satisfied...