About a year ago we decided to do an experiment. We’ve always been curious about how much difference there was in the taste of different priced kits and whether any perceived difference might be due to difference in the instructions and/or processing time between low end kits and high end kits. We were also curious about how the perceived differences between the kits might change over time. Since the inexpensive kits are suppose to mature earlier, we thought that the inexpensive kit might actually taste better early on but then the expensive kit might catch up and pass the inexpensive kit.
So, we bought three different Winexpert pinot noir kits, a Vintner’s Reserve, a Select and an Eclipse. We started them all within a week of each other and processed them exactly the same following the directions for the more expensive Eclipse kit. We bulk aged them all next to each other for 9 months and then bottled them all the same day. They are almost exactly a year old now.
On Friday we took a bottle of each to my office Christmas party. We conducted a blind taste test by hiding the labels with a piece of white paper and drawing a different graphic symbol on each one. We then had people taste each one and rank them 1, 2 or 3 depending on the taste at this point in time. It was a very random group of testers. Some appeared quite knowledgeable, others not so much. The results really surprised us. They were almost dead even.
The Eclipse received 8 first place rankings, the Vintner’s Reserve received 7 and the Select received 5. When we totaled all of the points there was only one point difference in the scores of the Eclipse and the Vintner’s Reserve. The Select was 5 points lower. I’m not sure how to explain the results, especially the fact that the Select finished third. Clearly the Eclipse is still a little immature. It probably needs another year or two to reach it’s potential. It’s possible that in another year at next year’s Christmas party the results will be different. It’s also possible that the folks who ranked the Vintner’s Reserve high are use to drink inexpensive $8-10 bottles of pinot from the grocery and the Vintner’s Reserve taste like what they are use to. Tune in next year for an update.
So, we bought three different Winexpert pinot noir kits, a Vintner’s Reserve, a Select and an Eclipse. We started them all within a week of each other and processed them exactly the same following the directions for the more expensive Eclipse kit. We bulk aged them all next to each other for 9 months and then bottled them all the same day. They are almost exactly a year old now.
On Friday we took a bottle of each to my office Christmas party. We conducted a blind taste test by hiding the labels with a piece of white paper and drawing a different graphic symbol on each one. We then had people taste each one and rank them 1, 2 or 3 depending on the taste at this point in time. It was a very random group of testers. Some appeared quite knowledgeable, others not so much. The results really surprised us. They were almost dead even.
The Eclipse received 8 first place rankings, the Vintner’s Reserve received 7 and the Select received 5. When we totaled all of the points there was only one point difference in the scores of the Eclipse and the Vintner’s Reserve. The Select was 5 points lower. I’m not sure how to explain the results, especially the fact that the Select finished third. Clearly the Eclipse is still a little immature. It probably needs another year or two to reach it’s potential. It’s possible that in another year at next year’s Christmas party the results will be different. It’s also possible that the folks who ranked the Vintner’s Reserve high are use to drink inexpensive $8-10 bottles of pinot from the grocery and the Vintner’s Reserve taste like what they are use to. Tune in next year for an update.
