Tasting a few wines blind with your friends may give you a better picture of what you may think of their actual worth and quality when not influenced by label, price, country of origin and so on. This is certainly the way most professional wine evaluations are done. In my case folks seem to enjoy presenting me with a glass of wine and asking for me to identify it, not always an easy task. I remember back in my earlier days that I found it quite remarkable that some people could taste a wine and in many cases identify what it was. This is something that our brains can learn over time and it can really be a lot of fun and very satisfying to master this ability, although with so many countries producing fine wine now, one can easily get fooled.

For instance, last week my wife handed me a glass of red and watched while I tried to identify it. To say what it was might seem impossible, but as I held it up to a white background to better see it, it seemed to have a deep colour as well as some translucence, confusing to say the least. As I swirled, sniffed and tasted I announced that it was from Spain, and my clues were colour (Spanish grapes Garnacha and Tempranillo are a little translucent) and a perceived creamy oak influence that the Spanish seem to like.

Something told me to taste again and this time I detected pepper which pointed to Syrah, and also a minerality that reminded me of Michael Chapoutier, in the Rhone Valley of France, and the way he refers to his biodynamic farming that allows the bacteria in the soil to actually break down granite and feed it to the vine roots. My final decision was a Rhone, Syrah-based, Chapoutier wine. The bottle was shown to me and it was indeed a Chapoutier Cotes du Rhone “Belleruche” which is a blend of Syrah and Grenache (the Garnacha in Spain). I agreed that it really was most enjoyable and at a cost of $16.40 for our current 2010, a really good value.

If I had been blind-folded and handed the bottle I would have easily identified the producer, as he is the only person to feature, on his labels, that brilliant invention by his fellow Frenchman Louis Braille. The story goes that the Chapoutier family was friends with Ray Charles and they wanted to assist him in picking out his wines and even after he has gone they continue with this practice. I am not claiming to be able to read Braille, only to know that by feeling the label I would know that it must be Chapoutier.

Monday evening presented a more difficult challenge as we sat in one of our finest restaurants with a visiting wine representative. This time, at the request of my wife, the sommelier bought the bottle to our table wrapped in a napkin so that we could not see it. It was poured and the men agreed that it was obviously a typical Bordeaux blend, in fact we were to find out that is consisted of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Malbec, 7% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc. We thought that it was absolutely delicious and blackberries, cassis and dark chocolate made me think of a very modern “garagiste” wine from Bordeaux such as our La Confession 2009 that sells for $64.05, but I was torn between this and a top blend from California. We could go no further than this. When the label was shown, it was actually purchased from my friend at the table and it was Rodney Strong “Symmetry” 2008 from Alexander Valley in California. The winemaker writes of a mouth-filling, rich, silky in texture, expansive wine that manages to be at once harmonious, powerful and elegant and destined for years of further development in the bottle. Spend $46.25 and I think that you will absolutely love the wine!

Michael Robinson is Director of Wine at Burrows, Lightbourn Ltd. He can be contacted at mrobinson@bll.bm or on 295-0176. Burrows, Lightbourn have stores in Hamilton (Front Street East, 295-1554), Paget (Harbour Road, 236-0355) and St George’s (York Street, 297-0409). A selection of their wines, beers and spirits are available online at www.wineonline.bm.