3rd Pittsburgh Gathering Leaves Everyone Blind!
Posted November 14, 2009Friday November 13 saw eight Pittsburgh-area PAWineTalk folks gather for the 3rd installment of their BYOB wine tasting. The theme was a blind tasting: everyone brought a bottle without disclosing what it was, and all bottles were kept in paper bags until everyone was finished tasting.
The venue was La Tivola Italiana Restaurant on Mt. Washington, a first-time restaurant for everyone in attendance. One $84 appetizer plate aside(!), the food and service did not disappoint. Dinners ranged from Margherita Pizza to Lobster Ravioli.
While the evening started as a quiet gathering, it soon descended into an atmosphere more akin to a wedding reception as the dining room filled with several large groups and plenty of wine.
Nine bottles were shared. As instructed, everyone brought their wine with the foil removed from the bottles, and a few folks had decanted theirs beforehand. One couple felt inclined to wrap their bottles with a protective coating of aluminum foil. Everyone wondered if that was a new high-tech method of blocking harmful UV rays, but it actually turned out to be a sneaky way to identify those bottles by touch despite being contained inside a paper bag. Aluminum foil was thereby banned from all future tastings!
The bottles were placed inside paper bags and labeled A through I. Everyone passed them around and made notes on the helpful score sheets provided by our host. With the tasting complete, each person declared one or two favorites. Then we went through the wines one at a time, first trying to guess what they were, then removing them from the bag.
As there were no Robert Parkers in the crowd, one of the interesting things was simply trying to guess the varietal. More often than not people struck out. One person seemed to think everything was an Australian Shiraz -- there were none -- while another thought everything was a Cabernet. Guesses for the first wine, a Washington State Riesling, included Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and California Chardonnay. One person almost nailed it and guessed a German Riesling.
The wines were:
- "A" - Kung Fu Girl Riesling Washington 2008 (PLCB # 12610)
- "B" - Menage a Trois Rose 2007 (PLCB # 16106)
- "C" - Hogue Cabernet Reserve Columbia Valley 2003
- "D" - Vina Cobos Bramare Malbec Argentina 2004
- "E" - Showket Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon Oakville 2005
- "F" - Viberti Barolo Riserva San Pietro 1999
- "G" - Rocca Delle Macie Chinti Classico 2006
- "H" - Pio Cesare Barbera D'Alba Fides 2006
- "I" - Prats & Symington Duoro Chryseia 2001
A white, a rose, and seven reds, from California, Washington, Italy, Argentina and Portugal. Not a single French wine!
As in the past, there was no across-the-board favorite. Several people said the Malbec was their favorite while one said it was their least favorite.
A suggestion was made to try to organize a sparkling wine tasting in time for the holidays. Watch the PAWineTalk Forum for details.
Comments
1. J2K on November 14, 2009 at 19:30
I had a great time and yes, I guessed shiraz on several bottles :-( Must have been the stuffed hot peppers! I did vote for the 2004 Vina Cobos Bramare Malbec as my favorite. When I got home I checked my old tasting notes. I had it before and rated it 93 points so at least I was consistent on that one! One extra note- after everyone left and I sat alone finishing off the Barolo- a young man at the table next to us stood up, quieted the crowd, got down on one knee, and proposed to his girl. She said yes, and someone passed me a glass of champagne!
2. Hawk on November 15, 2009 at 15:02
Great evening. Tasting blind is a real treat. Everything was good, but I loved the Hogue, Bramare, Snowket. The three italian wines had me completely mystified. I couldn't believe how close the Barolo tasted like a Bordeaux blend, or the Chianti Classico tasted like a pinot noir. I guess the lesson is to drink more Italian wine!
3. dontime on November 15, 2009 at 19:23
Had a great time - thanks for arranging J2K. Looking forward to the next one.