Tonight I have secretly selected a wine for Denise and she has chosen one for me.

In the show, we will discuss the blind-tasting process. After discovering the true identity of each wine, we will discuss the characteristics of each.

Blind-tasting involves the 5 S’s.

1. See
2. Swirl
3. Sniff
4. Sip
5. State

You can get a “Deductive Tasting Form” from the Court of Master Sommeliers online. https://www.mastersommeliers.org/

Tonight, we are blinding tasting two wines including:

1. 2021 Chianti Classico Basilica Cafaggio Vendemmia. This wine was purchased at Costco for $9.89. Cherry and milk Chocolate with notes of soil, freshly cut grass and herbs. Tastes of strawberry and cherry with some salty, crushed stone, and grassy-herbal soil. Relaxed tannins. The Wine Enthusiast rated this wine a 90 and also a Best Buy. We both liked this wine and gave it a score of 3. We would both buy again.
2. 2020 The Herdsman Cabernet Sauvignon, from Zamora, California. I purchased this wine from WineStyles for around $22.00. Flavors of black cherry, plum, maple and mocha. Maybe not the most complex wine, but very tasty and easy drinking. We both scored it a 4 and will purchase again.

Next week we will learn about Zinfandel.

1. 2019 Kirkland Signature, Old Vine Zinfandel. This wine was purchased from Costco for $9.99, and comes from Sonoma County, California.
2. 2019 Seghesio Zinfandel. This wine was also purchased from Costco for $16.99. The wine comes from Sonoma County.