Have you heard of blind wine tastings? No, it doesn’t involve blindfolds. That could get messy.

What a blind wine tasting means is that the taster is ‘blind’ to things such as where the wine is from, the winery that produced the wine and the price of the wine.

So, in a blind tasting, wine bottles are covered (usually in a bag), the foil capsule that covers the cork is removed, and the cork is pulled and placed out of sight. The price of the wine is also concealed.

The thing that isn’t blind to the taster is the topic of the tasting, such as the grape varietal being evaluated or the region where the wine was produced. So, a blind tasting could be conducted on Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. Or, Pinot Noir from Oregon. Or, wines from Bordeaux France. This way the blind taster at least has some point of reference and common denominator to use when evaluating the wines.

Being ‘blind’ to the wine producer and the price allows for a fair comparison between the wines. This removes potential bias when evaluating wine and allows for wines to be analyzed without any preconceived notions.

Then, at the end of a blind wine tasting, the brown bags come off, the winery labels are exposed and the details of the wines are brought to light. And, even for professionals, this can result in some raised brows. They can be surprised both ways - seeing the label may shock them compared to their notes. A highly touted winery’s wine may not have scored well, or a lesser-known winery may have scored unusually well. That’s the beauty of a blind tasting. Every wine gets a fair chance in the evaluation.

So, this is how the reputable wine publications do wine reviews - blind. This ensures that we as consumers are getting a fair and unbiased evaluation of a wine.

This can also be a fun thing to try at home. You don’t need to have a lot of bottles - two or more will do. Just ensure they are of the same varietal or composition. Then taste them focusing on the sight, smell and taste. Score each of them and then pull off the bags. You just might surprise yourself! Cheers!