TheWineCommander

There are three flights of four glasses of different, unidentified wines grouped on the table in front of you. You have no idea of who made them, what they are, where they’re from or how much they cost. All you have to go on is what your eyes and nose and palate tell you as you swirl, sniff and sip.
Now is the time to go through your structured routine.

We are all different
You know it’s not unreasonable to expect you to smell and taste exactly like I do! How manty times when you are at a group tasting when the wine presenter offers up fanciful descriptions and there are murmurs of agreement? I am often wondering why I am not picking up the obvious notes of ‘macerated pomegranate blossoms’ or ‘dried cinnamon’. Do yourself a favour and ignore these tasting notes.

Focus on structure
The structure of a wine doesn’t lie. Push pass the delightful aromas and get to the core defining factors of wine. Acid, sugar, tannin, alcohol and body. Many people will say evaluating wine is subjective. I don’t agree. Structure evaluation can be completely objective and measurable.

Practice and stick to a tasting system  
Practice these mechanics in a blind tasting or when you next open a bottle. I prefer to start gently with small sniffs, like a dog might take when approaching a glass of wine. Then move into the swirl and a slightly deeper sniff. Going for a third sniff is still a  good idea but do not smell more. Your olfactory senses will be spent.

Now be patient
When you sip the wine be patient. Pull in a bit of extra air to help expose the wine and your palate. Move the wine around to to get maximum exposure. Then spit or swallow depending on the circumstances. Now wait. Acid, tannin and additional complexities will often take more tham 10 seconds to properly reveal themselves. The better the wine the longer you should wait.

Recognition
When that initial recognition pops into your mind push it aside. Focus solely on systematically moving through what YOU can detect. Ignore what other are finding. After going through your entire process consider what you have observed and tasted and make a sensible conclusion. Grape varieties will come much easier this way.

What do you think?..

This is a very simplistic brief description on how to assess the various Italian grape varieties. An ideal reference for any blind tasting.
BARBERA
Its flavours range from vanilla, raspberry, nutmeg and cherry to intense liquorice.
DOLCETTO
Deep colour but with soft tannins. Is a soft, fruity assessable red with plush black fruit flavours.
FRAPPATO
Ruby colour with violet hues with intense aromas of violets, spices and red cherry. A medium body light refreshing wine with a distinct grapey aroma and notable acidity.
NEBBIOLO
Translucent colour like pinot and is delicate on the nose. But when you taste you are greeted with robust tannin and high acidity showing dried fruit, flowers, spices, sweets and delicate herbaceous aromas. It is Italy’s most perfumed and powerful red. Its skins are surprisingly thin for a grape known for its biting tannins.
MONTEPULCIANO
Medium bodied with plum, and coffee flavourswith subtle hints of crushed black pepper. It can finish a little fruity but with unmistakablable flavours of black cheery.
NERELLO MASCALESE
A spicy deep coloured black grape used as a base for reds of Eastern Sicily. Tough one to call as it has a complex variety of scents from red fruit to subtle spice and tobacco tones.
NERO D’AVOLA
A bolder red wine with plum, raspberry and licorice over tones and a somewhat smoky spiced finish..   Many people compare its character to Syrah.
SANGIOVESE
High in acid with dry, dusty tannins. Raspberry, toasted tomato and cherry flavours enhanced by subtle spice.

Putting the above descriptions to the test the following wines were tasted and identified.
All are readily available and represent great drinking and value. Your introduction to Italian wine varieties can start right here!  The standout was the Coriole Barbera 2014.  RUSH and BUY!

CORIOLE BARBERA 2014
95 points
$24 – $26  Widely available
BENEVELLI PIERO LANGHE ROSSO NUMERO 3 2015 (Nebbiolo)
88 points
$25 Google Winestar
Il PASSO NERELLO MASCALESE NERO D’AVOLA 2015
89 points
$20 Boccaccio cellars or widely available
ALTA MORA ETNA ROSSO DOC 2014 (100% Nerello Mascalese)
86  points
$36 – $45 Google availability
AMARANTA MONTEPULCIANO D’ABRUZZO  2014
90 points
$30 – $35 search