Young Winos of LA

It’s time for week three of our third annual March Madness blind tasting tournament! For six weeks, we’re tasting six of the world’s most recognizable varietals, one per week. After that, we’ll have two weeks of championship tasting, in which we go balls-out crazy with the blind tasting, drawing on what we’ve learned over the past six weeks in our effort to be crowned the official Young Winos blind tasting champion.

Week #1 — Sauvignon Blanc (done)
Week #2 — Syrah / Shiraz (done)
Week #3 — Riesling
Week #4 — Pinot Noir
Week #5 — Chardonnay
Week #6 — Cabernet Sauvignon
Week #7 — Blind white tasting
Week #8 — Blind red tasting

OFFICIAL RULES:
Each week, we bring bottles of the given varietal from all around the world. Before the tasting starts, two people volunteer to donate the two “mystery bottles,” and their wines are placed in brown bags. (For your wine to be granted this special honor, you must be sure that no one else knows what part of the world it’s from.)

We start things off with an open (non-blind) tasting of up to six bottles, representing the major regions where the particular wine is made. (For example, on Riesling week, we’ll taste one or two bottles each of French, German, and American.) When tasting, we pay special attention to what characteristics are typical of what regions.

Finally, we bring out the two mystery bottles in their brown bags. In complete silence, we sniff and taste wine #1, and then we make our region guesses on slips of paper, which are collected and put aside. Once everyone’s guess is in, we discuss the wine, and reveal the bottle. Then we repeat the process for #2, and we tally up the points. One point for each correct guess (incorrect guess results in no points, but points are not deducted). The donors each receive one-half point as compensation for not being able to participate in that round. Then we break for cheese time, and then we drink whatever bottles remain!

Beginners are completely welcome — and, in fact, often do just as well as the more “seasoned” tasters. To read the full version of the official rules, including the rules for the two-week championship following the six weeks of varietal tasting, click here.

For week #3, we’re hitting up Riesling, the king of the cool-climate grapes. Many of the world’s great Rieslings come from Germany, where they’re made to be delicate, balanced, and often slightly sweet (the Germans have a system called Prädikat for assigning “sweetness” ratings to their wine… read about it here). Next door, in France’s Alsace region, the Rieslings are broader and less delicate, with huge mineral and metallic notes. And on the other side of the pond, the Rieslings tend to run plumper and softer when grown under the warm California sun.

Great examples of Riesling are also made in Austria, Australia, and New York State — but for the purposes of our tasting, please bring a Riesling from either Germany, Alsace, or California.

We’ll be meeting at Tara’s place in Hollywood. The RSVP system functions like this: if you want in, you click on this link and tell me so (don’t forget your full name, e-mail address, and a cute message conveying to me your intentions). If you’re denied entry due to a meeting exceeding capacity, don’t worry — you’ll be at the top of the list the next week.

Once you’ve gotten your confirmation e-mail, go out and find yourself a bottle of Riesling from one of the permitted regions (or bring a $10 donation, if you prefer). We’ll see you ballers on Tuesday at 9pm.