The art of blind tasting

“Because, for all brains, a green syrup is necessarily mint, and a red syrup is strawberry,” summarizes Nadège Santini, head of the Terralia Senso sensory evaluation laboratory in Avignon. Taste is formed mentally. The brain receives the perceived sensations and then forms an image influenced by sight, the taste references of the taster, the tasting setting, etc. This is true for so-called naïve juries (average consumers), and to a lesser extent for trained experts.

No need. The organizer dresses the bottles with a tasting “sock” that hides the label. He serves the wines in a different order for each one. Then, each taster takes notes to describe the visual aspect, the aromas and the taste. Some tastings take place in black glasses, in order to focus attention on the aromas.

The demanding exercise requires concentration. The expert jury of the Inter Rhône technical department trains constantly in order to deliver the most reliable assessments possible. Any amateur can apply, they benefit from ongoing training but agree to be diligent, in order to evaluate the interprofessional tests.

Blind tasting is known to the general public as the perilous test of sommelier competitions, where the professional tries to decipher the identity of the bottle tasted. Juries of tasting competitions also respect the anonymity of the bottles tasted to award medals. Specialized journalists use it for certain competitions. But above all, "it is a daily tool" recognizes Fabien Ozanne, consulting oenologist at the Dioenos Rhône laboratory. This tasting makes it possible to evaluate techniques beneficial to the quality of wines, and to guide the work in the cellar.