Do a Bunch of Rank Amateurs Have Better Palates than the So-Called Experts? Maybe!

I’ve (finally) gotten my hands on the “ballots” from last month’s debut Bitch, Moan and Wine Club/Chew.hu “Big Blind” tasting, which include the scores the participants gave to each of the eight Kékfrankos-based reds that were tasted. And as they say in the world of science, the data are suggestive. Because what the data seem to suggest is that the unpretentious, value-conscious people who attended this tasting may be better judges of wine than the industry types and cellar-rich executives I have usually found myself drinking blind with.

Okay, maybe not better judges. But while sessions of the “expert” blind wine group I have attended for the last several years often result in prestige wines being embarrassingly mistaken for plonk, most at this tasting were able to quickly sniff out the most expensive, and “objectively” best of the pack, which came from Béla Vincze. Meanwhile, an obviously undervalued Takler came in third, and a rather iffy Pfneiszl in dead last.

Since the objective of the “Big Blind” tastings (and of the Bitch, Moan and Wine Club in general) is to be brutally honest, I’ll report that some people left the tasting saying they’d discovered they don’t really like Kékfrankos so much, even if it’s done right.

But no problem, because there are plenty of other grape varietals and wine types that await. If you want to join the fun next time, or to receive a Bitch, Moan and Wine Club’s most recent price list, write to wine AT bitchmoanwine.com.