Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

Josep Martínez — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 08:28:43 GMT

Me encanta!!!!

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

Peter Plaehn — Mon, 22 Aug 2016 14:48:58 GMT

Great feature, Dana. I'm going to put some of these to good use!

I had to do the same thing Melissa did, though I never quite perfected the blindfolded opening of bottles; that's next level stuff! Finding a trusted retailer to select a case of classics is key.

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

Darla Hoffmann — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 01:06:34 GMT

Thank you for the advice, Dana!

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

Justin Timsit — Tue, 26 Jul 2016 17:41:56 GMT

Really great insight, Dana. Thank you

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

David Horn — Mon, 25 Jul 2016 03:04:25 GMT

Love this article! And I have been trying to figure out the most effective way of limiting my own information as a single buyer/taster. Excellent solutions here for sure.

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

Timothy Sorek — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 05:40:04 GMT

Thank you! I feel like often times we (the community at large) try to start a tasting group with the sole purpose of 6 in 25, and lose sight of the importance of overall structure and methodology. Nice to have tried and true examples here for the rest of us to test out in our own settings.

Also, I love the idea of tasting with Master Sommeliers whenever possible (or MWs for that matter, here's looking at you [mention:3e53d1d5c7ef46fe9cb933de2eeb8f6c:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05] I feel like it's similar to talking to your boss: it seems incredibly intimidating, but in reality they're super approachable and really want to help you succeed. The moral here is "use all the resources available to you!"

Cheers, and happy tasting!

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

MIGUEL OSTROWSKI — Sat, 23 Jul 2016 17:26:19 GMT

This is great, thank you Dana!

I fully agree with Jason Heller, just blinding is half of the equation, tasting in context is very important. Learning how to be able to distinguish and compare in order to create that olfactory and palate memory are crucial. I have recently started a tasting group and we have discussed different formats, themes in order to try to get the most out of it. These formats listed here might get put in practice at some point as well.

Next step is to be able to find a MS that has some able free time to taste with us whenever they are available.

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

LGS — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 19:51:17 GMT

Thank you Dana for bringing to light what it takes to start tastings groups at the Advanced and Master Level. I agree with Jason Heller's MS point on splinter groups forming off of the main tasting group.

Main tasting group should be gauge of how your studies and other supplemental tastings are going. Jason Heller's MS point on mixing it up is crucial. Blind Tasting is physical like training for the Olympics. I am former swimmer. We did not just train in the pool we had to dry land ...ie weight training, Pilates, Tae Bo, running, ballet...ect . You have to do other exercises to strengthen how you go about 6 wines.

Different forms of wine tasting training obviously as mentioned are comparison tasting groups, round table tastings...one of my favorite methods was filling out the grids of the wines on paper and tasting the wine as I read the grid out load (it does not always have to be blind), recording the grids of blind wines listening to them on your down time, Venn diagrams (thank you Thomas Burke MS), and we all love Will Costello's MS mystery vile method. This is were you take wines pour them in to small dark vials that have the oxygen lock on them (get on amazon), put a number on them, file what they are on a document, put in the fridge, blind taste them at home.

YES!!Please, reach out to your Master's!!!

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

Troy Tranzow — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 19:28:57 GMT

" I am amazed with how many Masters there are in Napa, that no one reaches out to us. " ...this blows me away, if you're ever in Phoenix, there's a group of us who would love to blind taste/learn from you.

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

Jason Heller — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 18:51:24 GMT

The 2nd Napa group (thankfully inherited form Geoff Kruth, Emily Wines, Chris Blanchard etc) wasn't as simple as the above laid out. Dennis Kelley, Yoon Ha, Sur Lucero and I began tasting together and switched between many different formats of tasting. With the addition of Matt Stamp to our group a little later on we continued to mix things up more then I have seen most other groups.

We did practice the above mentioned format, but more as the group grew and grew and became a bit unwieldy given the amount of people. Speaking of having to make the hard decision in a tasting group, (and one that still pains me) we hit a point where a handful of us were too busy teaching to be learning ourselves and had to break off and form a separate much smaller group.

We practiced many round table tastings, comparative set tastings (medium plus, non oaked, semi aromatic white wines etc.) and really only did the six wine flights as an exam or competition that one of us may have been competing in loomed.

Groups that exclusively practice 6 wine flights, are great at one thing; tasting 6 wines in 25 minutes. It doesn't help with the comparisons and is probably why 50% + of Advanced and Master candidates can't even tell a Nebbiolo from a Sangiovese. If you aren't trying them side by side for comparison as often as possible, how will you be able to truly tell when the clock is ticking and a new larger pin is on the line.

Mix it up, take the examples of all the regional group formats listed here and enlist them all into your own group. For those that live near Masters, reach out to them. No one can help you if you don't ask. I am amazed with how many Masters there are in Napa, that no one reaches out to us. We can't always make the time and place of your specific tasting group but are more then happy to help at a mutually convenient time.

RE: Five Fresh Ideas for Running a Tasting Group, Plus One Way to Go It Alone

Kary Vega — Fri, 22 Jul 2016 18:44:23 GMT

Dana, Thanks for the write up, it will definitely help steer my tasting group in a postive direction.