07 · Taste Enthusiast

Blind tasting technique

Blind tasting is not about guessing. It is about systematic observation: working through appearance, nose and palate in sequence, naming what you find, and drawing conclusions from the evidence. The approach is the same whether you are preparing for a WSET examination or just trying to understand an unfamiliar bottle.

The six-step approach

Work through these steps in order, every time. Resist the urge to jump to conclusions before completing the palate assessment — many wines reveal their most important clues late. The how to taste wine guide covers the individual elements (sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, body) in detail.

Appearance

Tilt the glass against a white background. Assess colour hue (ruby, garnet, tawny for reds; lemon, gold, amber for whites), depth (pale, medium, deep) and clarity (clear or hazy). Colour and depth give early clues: pale ruby suggests Pinot Noir or Gamay; deep opaque purple points toward Syrah or Malbec. A tawny rim in a red wine indicates age or oxidation.

Nose — first impression

Swirl gently, then smell without overthinking. Note the first impression: red fruit, dark fruit, white fruit, citrus, floral, earthy, spicy, oak, reduction, fault? Is the wine clean? The nose is the richest source of information in blind tasting.

Nose — depth and complexity

Smell again after swirling more vigorously. Note whether aromas are primary (from the grape itself), secondary (from fermentation — yeast, butter, lees) or tertiary (from ageing — leather, earth, mushroom, dried fruit). Tertiary aromas suggest age; primary fruit dominance suggests youth.

Palate — structure

Take a sip and work systematically through the five structural elements: sweetness (dry, off-dry, medium, sweet); acidity (low, medium, high — felt at the sides of the tongue); tannin, reds only (low, medium, high — drying sensation on gums); alcohol (low <11%, medium 11–13.9%, high ≥14%); body (light, medium, full).

Palate — flavour and finish

Note the flavour characteristics and whether they confirm the nose. Assess the finish: short (< 5 seconds), medium (5–10 seconds), long (> 10 seconds). Long finish is generally associated with quality.

Conclusions

Synthesise: what grape variety? What climate (cool/warm)? What region? What age? What quality level? Work from what you know — acidity + red fruit + medium tannin points differently than acidity + dark fruit + high tannin. State a conclusion and a range of confidence.

Building pattern recognition

Blind tasting accuracy improves with deliberate practice: tasting the same variety side-by-side from different producers and regions; tasting the same wine at different ages; and tasting wines you know blind before looking at the label. The goal is to build an internal reference library — a sensory memory of what Riesling, Syrah or Chenin Blanc actually smells and tastes like, not just what a description says. Use the wine vocabulary guide to develop the language to describe what you find, and the tasting note guide for how to record it.

Sources: WSET (Systematic Approach to Tasting, Level 2 and Level 3 curricula); Court of Master Sommeliers (deductive tasting methodology); Institute of Masters of Wine (tasting examination standards). Last updated: 2026-10-19. Corrections via the contact form.

Questions

About blind tasting.

How do I identify a grape variety blind?

No single characteristic reliably identifies a variety — it is always a combination of clues. A systematic approach helps. For reds: Pinot Noir = pale colour, red fruit, low tannin, high acidity; Cabernet Sauvignon = deep colour, blackcurrant, firm tannin, cedar; Syrah = deep purple, pepper, dark fruit, smoky; Grenache = pale to medium, red fruit, low tannin, high alcohol. For whites: Sauvignon Blanc = green/citrus fruit, herbaceous, high acidity; Chardonnay = varies enormously (from lean mineral to rich oaky); Riesling = floral, citrus/stone fruit, high acidity, often off-dry. The more wines you taste and compare, the more reliable your pattern recognition becomes. Use the wine vocabulary guide to name what you taste.

What is the WSET Systematic Approach to Tasting?

The WSET SAT (Systematic Approach to Tasting) is the structured tasting framework used in WSET courses and examinations. It works through appearance, nose and palate in sequence, using defined vocabulary to ensure consistent description. The categories and descriptors are standardised: for example, acidity is always described as "low / medium(-) / medium / medium(+) / high" rather than in casual terms. In WSET Level 3 and above, the tasting note concludes with a quality assessment (faulty, poor, acceptable, good, very good, outstanding) and conclusions about variety, origin, age and readiness to drink. The approach used in this guide is compatible with but simplified from the full WSET SAT.

Does blind tasting require previous wine knowledge?

Some wine knowledge makes blind tasting more productive — if you have never tasted Pinot Noir, you cannot identify it blind. But you do not need extensive knowledge to begin: the systematic approach to structure (sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol, body) works regardless of experience, and the conclusions become more accurate as your reference library grows. Start by tasting the same variety from different producers and regions before attempting blind identification — this calibrates what is variety-driven versus terroir-driven. The how to taste wine guide covers the structural foundation.

What is reduction in wine and how does it show on the nose?

Reduction is a winemaking fault caused by insufficient oxygen exposure during fermentation or ageing — sulphur compounds (hydrogen sulphide, mercaptans) accumulate and produce unpleasant aromas. Light reduction smells of struck flint, struck match or rubber; heavier reduction smells of boiled egg, garlic or drains. It is most commonly found in wines made in sealed containers (stainless steel, concrete) with excessive sulphur additions. In blind tasting, reduction is important to identify because it obscures the wine's underlying character. Decanting or vigorous swirling often disperses light reduction. See common wine faults.