HOSTED by: Kris & Sarah
ATTENDED by (8 to 13): Kris, Sarah, Jason, Andrea, Rich, Debby, Dan, Tad... Tiffany? up to 4 others?
WINES/FOODS:
* Washington Gewurztraminer (2008 Columbia-Crest Two Vines, 11.5%) - paired with smoked salmon, muenster cheese & crackers (Rich/Debby)
* Pinot Noir - paired with crab rangoons (Kris/Sarah)
* French Bordeaux - (Dan/Tad)
* California Zinfandel (7 Deadly Zins, Michael David Winery, 15.0%) - paired with cocktail BBQ meatballs (Jason/Andrea)
MORE about the tasting (by Sarah): "It’ll be a bit of a blind tasting in that we will be trying each wine aerated and non-aerated to see if our taste buds can tell the difference. It’s kind of a myth-busting installment of Wine Club! For this tasting, we would prefer to have the majority of wines be red as aerating is primarily used on red wine. A few whites would be okay too, just to try and see if it does indeed make any difference, or to simply have after the tasting. Just a favorite of yours or something you’ve been wanting to try!"
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Thanks to everyone that attended! It was a great time and an interesting experiment. Here are some additional details and statistics for any curious minds wondering if the Vinturi Aerator did make a difference or not:
* 12 people attended (with one participant joining halfway through the tasting)
* 8 wines were sampled blind, aerated vs. non-aerated
* Each pair of samples was labeled A and B, with the aerated sample chosen randomly
* Participants were asked to choose which sample they liked “Better”, A or B
* After each wine, the votes were counted and then the Aerated wine was revealed
Results:
* 60% of the votes were for the aerated wine
* 7 of 12 people voted for the aerated wines more often
* 2 of 12 people voted for the non-aerated wines more often
* 3 of 12 people voted for the aerated and non-aerated wines equally
* Wine 1 (2007 Artesa Pinot Noir), Votes: 6 aerated, 5 non-aerated
* Wine 2 (2008 Carmel Road Pinot Noir), Votes: 10 aerated, 1 non-aerated
* Wine 3 (2006 Chateau Malmaison Bordeaux), Votes: 3 aerated, 8 non-aerated
* Wine 4 (2009 Alamos Malbec), Votes: 8 aerated, 3 non-aerated
* Wine 5 (2009 Menage a Trois Red Blend), Votes: 4 aerated, 8 non-aerated
* Wine 6 (2006 Fransican Cabernet Sauvignon), Votes: 4 aerated, 8 non-aerated
* Wine 7 (2008 7 Deadly Zins Old Vine Zin), Votes: 10 aerated, 2 non-aerated
* Wine 8 (2008 Columbia Crest Two Vines Gewurztraminer), Votes: 10 aerated, 2 non-aerated
Editorial about the Results:
Our goal for this blind tasting was to determine not only if the Aerator made a difference for a variety of wines, but if those differences were preferred or not. Overall, the preference was for the aerated wines.
I think it is fair to say that in some cases there were notable differences between the 2 samples while others seemed harder to distinguish. However, the voting results show that for any particular wine (except for Wine 1) the voting was relatively one-sided one way or the other. Interestingly, several people commented that Wine 2 was much harder to differentiate than Wine 1, yet the voting for Wine 2 was the most one-sided of the night. Also, the only person that voted for the non-aerated sample of Wine 2 happened to be one of the people that had the wine several times previously.
Another sample that was particularly interesting was Wine 8. It was the only white wine of the night, and the difference in aroma between the samples was significant. In particular, the aerated sample had a clear green apple smell that seemed to be missing from the non-aerated sample. The difference in aroma was especially refreshing as palate fatigue had understandably set in by that point.
Admittedly, the scientific aspect of this blind tasting was secondary to the monthly wine club’s primary goals to try some new wine and have fun. It’s hard to take the results too seriously considering the description “fuzzy” was used to describe one of the wines halfway through the night and person tallying the votes drank 16 samples of wine by the end (the votes were double checked the following day). I think there are a few conclusions that can still be made from this experiment though. The first is that, in general, the VInturi Aerator does seem to have some effect on the taste and/or aroma of a wine. The second is that for any particular person and any particular wine that effect may or may not be for the better. So use your Aerator wisely. Try a side-by-side comparison from time to time. And when in doubt, just blend the 2 samples together.
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