The Wine: Neboa Albarino, Rias Baixas, Spain, 2018

What we Tasted: Peach, apple, pineapple, “buttery,” honey, “chalky,” “woody,” “a little lemony”

What we Guessed: California Sauvignon Blanc, French Pinot Gris, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc

What Andy Guessed: Andy guessed French Viognier. At least they are both Old-World, aromatic whites!

What we Thought: I think we mostly liked this Albarino, although one taster said it was “too heavy” and another said it was “not crisp enough.” I enjoy light bodied, high acid whites as well!

The Wine: “Three” Zinfandel, Contra Costa County, California, 2018

What we Tasted: Blackberry, prunes, “plums & sunscreen,” black cherry, “muggy earth,” smoke, “fruit cake spice,” vanilla, coffee, “basement,” chocolate, “a bookstore”

What we Guessed: Argentine Malbec, California Zinfandel, Australian Shiraz

What Andy Guessed: Argentine Malbec. Not Andy’s best blind tasting day.

What we Thought: I think we mostly enjoyed this beefy Zin, although one taster said that the “alcohol content reminds me of college parties.” It was pretty boozy!

Watch the video here:https://fb.watch/2Zwpx46GVP/

The Wine: Bauer Gruner Veltliner, Niederoesterreich, Austria, NV

What we Tasted: Peaches, lemon, grapefruit, “Tennis Ball,” honeysuckle, Key Lime Pie.

What we Guessed: German Riesling, Spanish Albarino, Austrian Gruner Veltliner, California Sauvignon Blanc.

What Andy Guessed: Andy got it right, although was he crowdsourcing answers from the other participants? Austrian Gruner Veltliner

What we Thought: I think we liked it well enough although some thought it was a bit on the “simple side.” An “Unfussy picnic wine.”

The Wine: Dante Cabernet Sauvignon, California, 2018

What we Tasted: Plum, black cherry, smoke, “Sunscreen,” wood, bacon, “Campfire,” dark chocolate.

What we Guessed: Argentine Malbec, Australian Syrah

What Andy Guessed: Andy went back and forth but he finally settled on California Cab

What we Thought: Most of us enjoyed this one, especially at $10.99! I was completely surprised to learn that I was drinking such a cheap Cab. One of our tasters said that it tasted like “a highly concentrated and processed with additives- California Cab,” which is fair, but mostly we enjoyed it.

Watch the video here https://fb.watch/2YzIUzD7EI/

Another great and well-attended evening of blind tasting!  Watch the entire video here! https://www.facebook.com/MetroWinesAsheville/videos/1727004710782753/

The Wine: Louis Guntrum Dry Riesling, Rhein, Germany, 2018

What we Tasted: Apple, pear, citrus fruit, pineapple, white rocks, mineral, petrol/diesel, oak/coconut

What we Guessed: Northern Italian Sauvignon Blanc, “Not Sauvignon Blanc”

What Andy Guessed: “German Riesling from North of the Mosel Valley”

What we Thought: I think we mostly enjoyed this crisp and refreshing wine, although we all agreed that it would probably be better with food.

The Wine: Terre di Corzano Sangiovese, Chianti, Italy, 2018

What we Tasted: Sour cherry, “fall leaves,” cherry, red berries

What we Guessed: Sangiovese

What Andy Guessed: Barbera from Piedmont

What we Thought: I think we all enjoyed this one, although we thought it could benefit from some pizza or pasta as well.

Join us on October 21^st at 5:30 for the next Blind Tasting League on facebook live!

August 19th marked our first "virtual" Blind Tasting League event. We offered the wines that were to be tasted for sale in the previous weeks and they were available for pick up already bagged and numbered so that they could be tasted blind at home. I tasted the wines live on Facebook and led the tasting while people watched and tasted at home.

There was a bit of a learning curve with using Facebook live, all things considered, I think it went rather well for the first time! 

Watch the video of the tasting here! https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=296006281687495&extid=wiWMBVWW4RONtrQn

Anyway, onto the wines we tasted...

The Wine: Stillman Street Chardonnay, Sonoma County, California, 2018

What we tasted: citrus, apple, oak, grapefruit, floral, rocks, vanilla

What we Guessed: Viognier, French Chardonnay, "Not Riesling"

What Andy Guessed: Macon area Burgundy Chard. Oh well, I got the grape right...

What we Thought: We enjoyed this one I think. I was impressed by the restrained oak on this California Chard, as well as the bright acidity. It was actually very well balanced for an affordable Chardonnay.

The Wine: Chateau du Petit Thouars "Les Georges" Chinon, 2017

What we Tasted: Leather, cranberry, earth, cinnamon/spice, pepper, "cigar box," Smoke

What we Guessed: Nebbiolo, something Northern Italian

What Andy Guessed: Andy guessed Northern Italian Nebbiolo. It was tannic and earthy without much fruit. At least the Loire Valley and Piedmont are both cool-climate, Old-World locations. I've gotten rusty!

What we Thought: I think we enjoyed this wine but we all agreed it needed some food!

Our next Blind Tasting League will be on September 16th at 5:30. If you want to join in yourself, pick up the wines at Metro Wines and tune in at https://www.facebook.com/MetroWinesAsheville

Cheers!

Calling all blind tasters! Our in-house blind tasting class, The Blind Tasting League is all set to make its dramatic return… virtually.

We will be coming to you once a month via Facebook live with two wines, a red and a white. Both wines will be available at Metro Wines for pickup in advance of the tasting, we will have them in bags simply marked with a “1” and a “2” so that you can taste blindly along with me. No peeking! While we are tasting together virtually, you can comment on what you are tasting and guess what we are drinking, and I will be able to read them during the tasting, live. It should be interactive and a lot of fun!

If you have never blind tasted before, don’t worry. This is a very entry-level blind tasting class and meant for beginners, although hopefully even seasoned blind tasters will get some practice and enjoyment out of this virtual class!

If you are interested in joining our live event, watch my video below to learn the basics of blind tasting and download these helpful materials to make the tasting a little easier. It’s the blind tasting grid from the Court of Master Sommeliers as well as a cheat sheet of common tasting descriptions of different wine varietals.

Our first virtual Blind Tasting League will go live at 5:30 on August 19^th on Facebook, the link is here. There is no need to RSVP or pay for the class, it is on the house! Pick up the wines at Metro Wines in advance so you can taste with me, or just watch and consider playing along next time.

Cheers and hope to see you on Facebook Live!

Get your cheat sheets for the tasting here!

Metro Wines' Facebook page is here