Canadian Grapes to Wine
SPRING 2005, Page 16
Ontario versus Bordeaux in revealing blind tasting
Just how impressed are we by appellation and name when it comes to wine tasting and enjoyment? What if wines from two different wine regions, growing similar varieties, were blind tasted. Would our perceptions change? And, perhaps more important, would we be prepared to trust our senses when the curtain is raised?
All of these questions were thoroughly explored at a recent double blind tasting convened by the Wine Judges Commission of Ontario (WJCO) at the Cool Climate Oenology and Viticulture Institute (CCOVI) at Brock university in late February.
In the forum, which was moderated by Larry Paterson (www.littlefatwino.com), were Ontario Bordeaux style wines and leading examples from the Chateaux of Bordeaux itself. 16 wines were featured with Bordeaux being represented by four classed growth wines ranging in price from $45 to $85, facing 12 from Ontario ranging in price from $14.95 to $49.95.
On the tasting panel were eight members of the Wine Writers Circle of Canada, 20 members of the Wine Judges of Canada, three journalists, eight people from Ontario wineries, nine members of CCOVI and three other experienced tasters.
I know we are keeping you waiting, but for the record the 16 wines were randomly and carefully decanted into plain bottles for pouring shortly before tasting. They were numbered from 1-16 and poured four wines per flight. The only person who knew the contents of these bottles was Chief Steward John Peters of WJCO.
The wines were scored between a low score of 70 and a high score of 100. Other scores were not counted. The scores of the tasters were averaged by number and when tabulated the wines were revealed in reverse order of average score, so there was suspense at the tasting as well.
To their edification, here is what the tasting panel learned:
Folling the competition, Larry Paterson, the moderator of the tasting, posted the following commentary on his website: www.littlefatwino.com, and with his permission we repeat it here since it makes a number of revealing points.