More Blind Tasting
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More Blind Tasting
Hey Team,
We’re just one sleep away from another couple of in-person study days in lovely old London Town, and I’ve got an early train to catch tomorrow, so early I’ll be in no fit state to write this while I’m on it. So I best get on with getting it out on time.
More Blind Tastings?
You can read my thoughts on Blind Tastings, but regardless of the ins and outs of of why we do it, I have to do it to get through the bloody exams.
I’m definitely starting to feel the pressure a little bit about the Stage 1 Assessment. The tasting paper is 12 wines, as usual tasted blind, and there’s no particular theme.
On Tuesday and Wednesday morning I’ve got a practical ‘mock’ style 12-wine blind tasting, followed by some lengthy feedback*, then the afternoon is spent working through “a presentation focusing on exam technique.”
For the Stage 2 Exam, there’s three practical/tasting papers, one on white wines, one on red, and then a mixed bag**. The Stage 1 paper usually*** a combination of all three Stage 2 papers, so I’m anticipating maybe some fizz, maybe some white and red, and them maybe something sweet or fortified.
There’s no room for second guessing anything, so like all MW students are doing constantly, I’m brushing up on technique and wine recall.
Getting the wines right is part of the process, but it’s useful to have a clear idea of how the questions are put together too.
The Structure Of Wine
The WSET Level ‘Structured Approach to Tasting’, the SAT, give you all the tips and tools you need to assess the structural components of the wine, which is a great starting point. The MW doesn’t specifically asses you on those.
The structural elements are morphed and incorporated into the questions, with interpretation and understanding why the wine is the way it is, and showing how you go to your answer.
My tasting grid, to break down each wine, giving me a framework to answer the questions is this:
Colour
Aroma
Acid
Sugar
Tannin
Alcohol
Body
Style
Oak
Length
Quality
Any Other Comment Related to the Question. Such as maturity, or winemaking.
I do this for every single wine in the flight, then try not to go back to the wines. That’s my way to cross-reference each wine, so that I don’t start over thinking things which is very easy to do.
What Questions to Expect?
I get asked “What are the questions?” quite a lot when talking about my MW studies in general terms.
People are generally shocked when I tell them that identifying the wine or grape is only half of the question, and even less of the marks.
For each wine there are 25 marks available to you, with 12 wines in the flight, that is a total of 300 marks available, and you need somewhere around 200 marks required to pass.
An example questions might take the following form****.
Wines 1–4 are all made from the same single grape variety.
With reference to all four wines:
a) Identify the grape variety. (20 marks)
For each wine:
b) Identify the origin as closely as possible. (4 x 10 marks)
c) Discuss quality with reference to winemaking techniques used. (4 x 10 marks)
So, from your possible 100 marks*****, you’ve only got 20 of them for identifying the grape variety. For our example, it was Chardonnay.
Break those 20 marks down and you’ve maybe got 5 marks for getting ‘Chardonnay’ written in the answer box. Then you’ll need to pick up the remaining 15 marks by credibly explaining how you know it is what it is, using the structural elements.
There’s then a further 10 marks for each wine, to discuss how you know the origin. Then 1o more for explaining the key winemaking points and how that affects the wines quality. Don’t forget the ‘why’, and don’t forget to tie it back to what you’ve just tasted.
Also, by the way, you’ve only got around 10 minutes per wine to taste, deduce and write your answers. I taste everything first and then write all the answers.
So that’s that. Repeat for 12 wines, usually 3 or 4 questions, in 3 or 4 groups of 3 or 4.
I’ll let you know how get on.
dk
* Often quite humbling
** The mixed bag papers are usually feature sparkling/rose/fortified/sweet styles, but not necessarily exclusively.
*** The word ‘usually’ is doing some seriously heavy lifting here.
**** Taken from the 2018 Stage 2 exam paper
***** yes, one question can easily form one third of the marks available.
Indie Insider: HarperWells with Sam Howard
Indie Insider profiles and showcases the brilliant Indie Wine Merchant scene in the UK.
Indie Insider is a new thing from me, talking to people from within the Indie trade about what they do, how they do it, and why it works for them.
I’m going to be doing some tasting events with HarperWells at their Deli in Diss, Fredricks Fine Foods over the summer, so this Indie Insider also has a slightly hidden promotional agenda.
24 June 2022 - Summer Tasting - Tickets
Further Reading
If you want to dive into all the previous Master of Wine Exam questions, you can have a look here.