If so, then you will appreciate the new INAO (Institut National dAppelation dOrigine of France) black tasting glass, constructed from 9% crystal. This glass has had manganese oxide added during the glass making process turning it jet black. Although referred to as the INAO glass, it is more or less exactly the same shape as the XL5 which many people will be familiar with from most winery cellar doors (in fact the XL5 is modelled on the INAO).
Professional wine tasters are trained to assess wine first by colour, then smell, and finally tactility and taste, which are usually referred to as colour, nose and palate. The aim of using the INAO black tasting glass is to prevent a wine taster from forming a preconceived judgement about a wine based solely on its appearance by removing the visual clues which can take many forms, such as the depth of colour which can indicate grape variety and wine style, the hue which can indicate age, and the clarity and liveliness which can indicate production methods.
A blind tasting is where the bottled wine is covered from view, decanted, or poured prior to the taster receiving the wine. In normal blind tastings, aspects such as grape variety, wine style, vintage, region, country and producer are concealed. By using the INAO black tasting glass, the taster can also conceal visual aspects such as clarity, depth, hue, liveliness, effervescence, and overall colour eg: red, white, or ros, thus leaving the taster completely blind in every aspect. This has the effect of making the taster concentrate on the other two parameters of wine tasting - the nose and palate, to distinguish a wines virtue, breed, or distinction.
It could be possible for example, that when you taste your next red wine which has great depth of colour, you may be subconsciously and visually convinced that you are going to smell aromas which are associated with this character like blackcurrant, plum, or mulberry, rather than actually detecting these during the nosing stage. It could also be possible that you are overlooking other aromas in the red wine that may be associated with white wine like apricot, peach or even musk. The reverse is also possible ie: white to red.
When reviewing new wine gadgets, glasses and other products, I always ask myself the same question - does it acheive what it sets out to do? The answer in this case is absolutely....and at about a quarter of the price of the Riedel Blind Blind tasting glass, its fantastic!
There is no doubt that when using the INAO black tasting glass the taster cannot see the colour of the wine, which is the objective here.
If you are serious about winetasting, wine judging or simply enjoy blind tasting with a group of friends, then you will appreciate the INAO black tasting glass. This is the thinking persons glass as it really does focus your mind on what is you are actually nosing and tasting in a wine.
Availability Comes in packs of 6 or cartons of 24 units
$25.00 per unit
LImited Stock!!!
Vinum Vitae Pty Ltd