The Wine Knows

A story buzzing around the wine world the past two days confirms what we already know (from common sense as well as similar studies): The more expensive we think a wine is, the more impressed we are.

Another story that has been overlooked addresses a similar subject. Under blind conditions, wine drinkers can tell no difference between a wine under screwcap and one under cork. That is presuming the one under cork isn't tainted with TCA. But when Oregon State University researchers gave consumers a choice of wines with screwcaps or corks, they favored the cork.

These two studies offer plenty of fodder for discussion. What strikes me the most is the importance of blind tastings. Judging a wine blind is still the most effective way to remove misperceptions and find out just how good it is.

An example from 2000. Ste. Michelle had just released the 1999 Eroica Riesling, the first vintage of that now-vaunted collaboration with Ernst Loosen of Germany. It was $20 (an outrageous price for a domestic Riesling then). It had the pedigree of Ste. Michelle and Loosen. And it had a pretty cool label and funky name.

I received a bottle and took it to a birthday party that included many wine people. We all sat around marveling at this wine's greatness as we sipped it. I was conducting a blind tasting of 50 Northwest Rieslings the next week, and I was just certain the Eroica would finish first. It had to! It was $20 and was made by Ernie Loosen!

Well, an obscure Hood River, Ore., winery (Flerchinger Vineyard, now Cathedral Ridge Winery) finished first in the Riesling competition. The Eroica? It ended up at No. 25.

That was the day I decided I would never rate another wine under anything but blind conditions.

What does all of this have to do with you? You aren't going to taste all of your wines with a paper bag covering the label. Be wary when receiving recommendations for expensive wines when they aren't tasted blind. Trust professional wine competitions, which are conducted under blind conditions.

And buy more wines with screwcaps. Then serve them to friends and talk to them about the needs for alternative closures and the problems corks can create.