Blind Wine Tasting Tips: How to Identify What’s in Your Class

Blind wine tasting is one of the most exciting ways to refine your palate and deepen your appreciation for wine. Whether you're hosting a tasting party or training your senses for professional evaluations, recognizing key characteristics—especially aromas—will help you identify what’s in your glass with confidence. Here’s how to master the art of blind tasting.

1. Start with the Basics: Sight, Smell, Taste

Before you take a sip, analyze the wine using the three-step approach:

• Sight: Observe the wine’s color, clarity and viscosity. Lighter hues often indicate younger wines, while deeper tones suggest aging or oak influence. Higher viscosity may suggest wine with high alcohol or sweetness.

• Smell: Identify primary aromas that hint at grape variety and winemaking techniques.

• Taste: Confirm what you smelled by evaluating the flavors, acidity, tannins, and finish.

2. Recognizing Aromas: The Pyrazine Clue

Aromas are one of the best indicators of a wine’s identity. A distinct vegetal aroma—such as green bell pepper, English peas, asparagus, green peppercorn, or fresh-cut grass—signals the presence of pyrazines. This is a signature characteristic of varietals like:

• Cabernet Sauvignon

• Cabernet Franc

• Merlot

• Carmenere

• Sauvignon Blanc

If you detect these green, herbaceous notes, you’re likely tasting one of these grape varieties.

3. Recognizing Flavors and Tastes

• Sauvignon Blanc – often has citrus (grapefruit, lime, lemon), melon (honeydew), green apple, passion fruit, white peach and grassy notes or bell pepper.

• Chardonnay – often has a buttery or crisp fruit taste. Toast, coconut or toffee. Tends to lean toward pineapple, guava, mango when ripe or green apple and lemon when barely ripe.

• Riseling– often has citrus and stone fruit (nectarine, apricot, apple and pear) with high acidity. Can be sweet to dry. May have honeycomb or a chemical aroma similar to petrol/gas.

• Viognier – often has stone fruit (apricot) and floral notes.

• Semillon – often has grassy, melon, herbs, and fig flavors. Sweet.

• Pinot Noir – often has red cherry, raspberry, strawberry, loganberry, mulberry, red plums and earthy notes, tea-leaf, slight licorice and vanilla coke. Very soft tannins. Can be minty.

• Cabernet Sauvignon – often has black cherry, blackcurrant, cedar, cassis and possibly anise or bell pepper. Vanilla notes could come from oak barrels.

• Cabernet Franc – often has raspberry and blackcurrant with perfumed or herbaceous notes. Sometimes shows pencil shavings or bell peppers.

• Malbec – often has blackberry, dark plum and black cherries and hint of black pepper, chocolate, violet flowers, leather and sweet tobacco. Also has a bright, magenta meniscus color.

• Merlot – often has plum, black cherry, herbal flavors, sandalwood, coffee, mint, chocolate, bell pepper and vanilla. The tannins are softer than Cabernet Sauvignon.

• Syrah – often has black pepper, wild dark fruit and hint of leather or roasting meat.

• Zinfandel – often has jammy fruit flavors and herbs/spice or crisp raspberry and blackberry with cocoa, pepper and leather.

4. Focus on Structure and Mouthfeel

Beyond aromas, pay attention to how the wine feels in your mouth:

• Acidity: A crisp, mouthwatering sensation often points to white wines like Sauvignon Blanc.

• Tannins: A drying, grippy sensation suggests bold reds like Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.

• Body: Light-bodied wines feel delicate, while full-bodied wines coat the palate with richness.

5. Compare and Contrast; Do Not Assume

Blind tasting is all about recognizing patterns. Taste wines side by side and note differences in aroma, texture, and finish. The more you practice, the easier it becomes to identify key characteristics. Try to avoid jumping to conclusions based on sight or smell. You may trick yourself into believing what you want the wine to be and be wrong.

6. Trust Your Senses; Use Sound Reasoning

The best way to improve at blind tasting is through experience. Take your time, trust your nose and palate, and most importantly—enjoy the process. With practice, you’ll develop the skills to identify wines with confidence. Every experience helps you build your existing knowledge.

Ready to put your skills to the test? Gather a few bottles, pour them into blind tasting glasses, and see how many you can identify! 🍷✨