Wine Adventures Magazine + Sommelier Services is holding five blind wine tasting sessions for 2015. These are not workshops or tastings as we normally do them. You need to bring your own glasses for one thing. There is no bread or food. And you need to do the work! It is a straightforward blind wine tasting where participants take notes on the wines they are tasting to come to a conclusion on quality, grape variety, vintage, price, and wine region.

It’s challenging. Sometimes, it’s infuriating. But it’s also fun. It’s an inexpensive way to get exposure to groups or styles of wines, based on your tasting of them. (Those wanting instruction on picking out aroma and flavour characteristics in wine should attend a Wine Adventures Sniff and Sip Workshop. Our next one on Thursday, Jan 29 will focus on herbal and spice characteristics, with a primer on sweetness, with the usual primary goal being wine pleasure!)

The Blind Wine Tasting Group is for those needing or wanting to practice blind wine tasting for their formal wine education, for their work, or just for their amusement or curiosity. Come to one or all five sessions. Use the language of your wine program or what you think makes sense. Just let the rest of the group know before you share your thoughts so we can all learn from each other along the way.

We’ve had a successful first session on Sunday, Jan 11. Here’s the description for the remaining four.

The Blind Wine Tasting Group

2 flights of wine. 3 wines per flight. 7 minutes per wine. Discuss. Reveal.

Keen to deepen your wine knowledge by tasting blind? Need blind wine tasting practice for work or wine school program? Just want to join a group of gregarious wine lovers? Come join us!

Bring yourself, six wine glasses (ISO preferred but not necessary), a notepad and pen, and a bottle of water if you like/need.

We provide the venue, 2 curated flights of wine, and spit cups.

Each session will start with a short introduction and review of how to take wine tasting notes and what observations you are striving for as you taste each wine. A list of descriptors to help you tease out the aroma and flavour characteristics of each wine will be provided. Use them or not depending on how much of a challenge you’d like it to be!

Tasting will begin sharply at noon. Better to be early than late for these sessions. $30 per person per session. Interac e-transfer/email deposit to gloria@gloriachang.com  Please remember to email the password to release the payment. (If you’d like to pay by cheque/cash in advance instead, let us know).

Payment must be made by Thursday midnight, before the Sunday tasting 12-2pm to reserve your spot.

Location: Rising Star Building, 1556 East 5th Avenue, Vancouver

Questions? Please don’t hesitate to contact Gloria Chang who will be moderating the sessions: 604 805 2140 or email: gloria@wineadventures.ca 

The remaining Blind Wine Tasting Group sessions are:

#2: Sunday, Jan 25, 12-2pm

#3: Sunday, Feb 8, 12-2pm

#4: Sunday Mar 8, 12-2pm

#5: Sunday Mar 22, 12-2pm

*No refunds. The Blind Wine Tasting Group sessions are also listed on wineadventures.eventbrite.ca and The Juice Local Wine Events