tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392866426745021699.post7645334149927165601..comments2024-03-28T07:27:16.088+01:00Comments on The Wine Gourd: The blind leading the blind?David Morrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11578729952036086391noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392866426745021699.post-63330378927423846862017-08-07T11:47:15.015+02:002017-08-07T11:47:15.015+02:00There is no need to feel snubbed. If the organizer...There is no need to feel snubbed. If the organizers chose their bottles at random in Europe, the chances that even one of them would be from anywhere in the USA is quite small. For example, selecting from the Systembolaget database yields only 34% for the reds and 24% for the whites.David Morrisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11578729952036086391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1392866426745021699.post-20372963372276077122017-08-07T07:30:08.528+02:002017-08-07T07:30:08.528+02:00"Some grape varieties occur in wines much mor..."Some grape varieties occur in wines much more commonly than do others, and those grapes are more likely to be represented in the tasting contest; and human beings know this, even if the monkeys do not. Similarly, some countries are more likely to be represented in a wine tasting than are others, especially given the presence of certain grape varieties. ...<br /><br />"We therefore cannot assume that an educated wine taster is the same as a monkey throwing darts. The wine taster is not guessing, any more than a motor mechanic is guessing when diagnosing a fault in your car. They both have prior knowledge, which even at worst produces an educated guess (and at best is professional expertise). ..."<br /><br />I guess we Californians should feel snubbed by the organizers of the Oxford and Cambridge competition. Not a single submission white or red from our fair state.<br /><br />A crafty student participant could "game the system" by reviewing Jennifer Segal's book titled “Reds, Whites and Varsity Blues” to learn the universe of grape varieties submitted in the past. Then through repeated exposure commit to organoleptic memory the aromas, bouquets, flavors, body weight and comparative tannin levels of the "usual suspect" wines.<br /><br />(Unless the history of the event chronicled in Jennifer Segal's book disproves, I suspect -- and so should have the student participants -- that no one grape variety is ever repeated in the white or red flights. So make six different grape variety guesses.)Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02089688073031173053noreply@blogger.com