Be a wine tasting winner

Wine clubs and competitive wine tasting

Did you know wine tasting is actually a competitive sport? This year, a Chinese team achieved a perfect score, identifying twelve French wines by taste alone. The team said wine tasting was “fifty percent knowledge and fifty percent luck.” If you want to be an expert wine taster, try joining a wine club and going to wine tastings. Look at the wine against a white background. Swirl it very carefully. When you smell the wine, try to think of everything the smell reminds you of — not just fruit, but flowers, smoke, even crushed stone. When you taste it, notice the texture and mouthfeel. Once you’ve swallowed it, notice the aftertaste.

Wine tasting at a vineyard near St. Helena, CA

Anderson’s Conn Valley Vineyards in Napa Valley, a 10-minute drive from downtown St. Helena, holds tastings in its barrel caves, where visitors can sample current releases and library wines. There you may find the 2010 Signature Vintage Cabernet Sauvignon, a deep purple wine with a slight red edge that comes from the best two barrels of the vintage, has an aroma that begins with a strong cassis, with streaks of blackberry and blueberry and highlights of blue flowers. The oak adds elements of smoke to the bouquet. The palate of the ’10 Signature is similar to the aroma, with the taste of black, blue and red fruits, anise, smoke and violets. This is a wine that deserves to be kept and allowed to age. Join their wine club and order some of their wines today.