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Every month I keep inventory at my own house for my own “cellar” (a full wine rack tagged and organized by country and then region) and I have a system for pulling and adding new wines for blind tasting.
You can follow this system to build up an evolving collection of wines for blind tasting without dropping a ton of money at once!
All you need is
a sharpie
a few testable bottles to start
And then follow this process just once a month…
Whenever you get new bottles in, tag them!
Then organize your wine rack by country!
(This comes in handy when either you or a partner go to pull and pour wines for flights!)
…If you want a “same country” flight, you can look at the top of the tag and pull three from the same country and if you want a “same variety” flight you can find three of the same by looking at the bottoms of all tags.
I now have it organized by WSET D3 flight categories, so it’s easy for my husband to come down and pull a country or region flight, because everything is in order. You can view and print that category sheet HERE.
Pick one date of the month and do inventory – look at the dates on each tag and see which are past 6 months or so and pull them if you think they need to be consumed. You can either drink these or give them away!
…when to pull depends on how many times the bottle has been Coravined, how much wine is in the bottle, and the “age-worthiness” of the wine.
So if it’s a cheaper Pinot Grigio, I pull it – if it’s a Cornas I’ve only Coravined once, I might leave it there!
Look at the empty gaps, and see what you don’t have
(I use a testable varieties checklist – available here) and create a small list of wines to order.
I order anywhere from 4-12 bottles per month (it depends on the month and my budget, sometimes it’s only 4!) Tasting Group wines always get added in if they are natural cork, so that’s a plus!
Once the new bottles come in, tag them (using the above system) and add them to your rack in the proper spot!
You can do the same process every month (by pulling and adding) which keeps an evolving set of blind tasting bottles. You can start early and collect a few bottles at a time!
What are some of your tips and strategies for Blind Tasting?
What would you add?
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No matter your current skill level, we can help you improve – pass that exam, share your wine knowledge with others, guide your buyers, enhance your guests’ experience, and show up with confidence and credibility as a wine professional!
