MINI TASTING RESULTS

Last month’s Mini Tasting was designed to pit similar wines from France and Italy head to head to see if there was a clear preference of one country over the other. As the table below shows, the results were inconclusive from a total preference; however, when matched up 1A versus 1B, 2A versus 2B, etc., the Italian wine won four of the five matchups, with only the French Champagne outscoring the Italian Franciacorta by a wide margin. 

What the results did show was a clear preference for the red blends as the two outscored the combined total of the other eight wines. In fact, seven of the eight sites selected either 4A or 4B as their highest ranked wine with five of the eight sites selecting 4A or 4B as the 2nd highest ranked. The night’s winner, Tenuta San Jacopo, Orma del Diavolo, from Tuscany, is made up of 50% Sangiovese, 30% Merlot, and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. This is in contrast to our second highest rated wine from Bordeaux, France, Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion, 2016, which is a blend of 62% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, and 8% Cabernet Franc. 

For this event, a total of 120 members participated across eight host sites. Hopefully, everyone enjoyed an evening with wines from some of the most famous regions in the world. For our next Mini Tasting on June 28, our expert judges will be comparing wines from the California Coast against wines produced using Inland wineries.