Vinotastr: Defining your Palate Preferences

A visit to a wine bar or wine shop can be daunting with what appear to be endless choices. You know you like red wine, but not all red wines. You’ve often wished there was a way to figure out what you like without randomly buying bottle after bottle until you find the wines you enjoy. Now there is!

Check Out Vinotastr

Vinotastr, a wine preference test kit, offers you an astonishingly easy solution. Hard to imagine, but it’s true. Just listen to the Wine Road podcast where Beth Costa, the Wine Road Executive Director, takes the quick Vinotastr test and gets the results in seconds. Beth was amazed at the accuracy of her test results. When I heard her say the test pegged her palate preferences, I had to explore this for myself.

The podcast includes an interview with Dr. Henry Barham, who along with his team, developed test strips that define what flavors you like and dislike. They’ve translated that flavor information into wine varietals. This is revolutionary for any wine drinker who longs to branch out to other wine varietals, but is tired of spending money on wines they don’t enjoy. Or, is embarrassed when asked, “What wine varietals do you like?” and can’t figure out an answer, which often results in being handed a glass of something they’re not that fond of.

 

The Science Behind Your Sip

The Vinotastr website explains, “We measure your sensitivities to wine traits like bitterness, sweetness, flavor, and body to recommend wines that match your palate profile.” Vinotastr’s tagline The Science Behind Your Sip™ is very fitting.

The website further explains the science behind the test, which is well worth exploring, but I was more interested in the results.

 

Defining Your Palate Preferences

The test divides folks into five palate profile categories:

• Sweet Avenger – likes an off-dry mellow wine with lots of flavor
• Savory Crusader – enjoys all things savory and fruit forward
• Body Advocate – looks for wines with weight in the texture and overall balance
• Balance Ambassador – appreciates complexity and harmony, but above all balance
• Tannin Champion – loves big, robust wines; appreciates the complexity tannins bring to a wine

When you get your test results, there are six corresponding varietals that fit within each of the five categories — three white and three red. This can be a huge time and cost saver for anyone, from the beginning wine drinker to those who love wine but don’t know where to begin when exploring new varietals.

My test results confirmed my palate preferences, and reminded me of a varietal I don’t often buy, but remember enjoying. The results also have a section entitled “It’s About You,” and another called “The Science Behind Your Sip.” Both those sections, along with the wine recommendations, were worth the kit price.

The Vinotastr kit comes with two tests, perfect for tasting partners to share and discover where they are alike or different in their palate preferences. I’ve shared the information regarding Vinotastr with many of our friends and family, and everyone wants all their wine drinking friends to take the test. Once you see your results, you’ll better understand how knowing your wine preferences expands your world of wine possibilities.

 

Putting Palate Preference Knowledge to Use

Once you’ve taken the Vinotastr test and know your palate preferences, the perfect way to try out your new knowledge is to go wine tasting!

Lucky for you, the Wine Road’s Winter Wineland is just weeks away! It takes place the weekend of January 13^th & 14^th, with over 60 wineries participating. Armed with Vinotastr’s scientific proof of your palate preferences, you’ll be able to taste a wide range of varietals and blends, and further understand your likes and dislikes.

Palate Temptation

To encourage you to seriously consider attending Winter Wineland, let me add to the temptation to get your tickets now:

• The event is two-days from 11 – 4. That’s ten hours of exploring wineries and wine along the Wine Road.
• If you liked to enjoy Happy Hour at Silver Oak Cellars and Breakfast at Bricoleur Vineyards, you could be one of 20 lucky folks who will be able to snag VIP tickets.
• Many of the wineries who participate in Winter Wineland only do this one Wine Road event. To drop a few names … BACA Wines, Banshee, Char Vale Winery, Limerick Lane Cellars, Peterson, Yoakim Bridge and more.
• Although this isn’t billed as a food event, I got a sneak peek at the program and saw these tasty options:
  • Martorana Family Winery –ski chalet photo ops, plus an extra virgin olive oil tasting
  • Mounts Family Winery – tasty empanadas
  • David Coffaro Winery & Foppiano Vineyards – NFL Football Playoff Game with nachos
  • Idlewild Wines – Nebbiolo with cheese steaks
  • J Rickards Winery & Sunce Winery – heart-warming winter soup

 

Think Holidays

With the holidays zooming in, I’m thinking of making my gift giving simpler this year. Part of my gift list will receive Vinotastr kits, plus my favorite wine glasses. And, a select few will receive Vinotastr kits, plus Winter Wineland tickets. I love it when shopping solutions can be this simple.

Hope to see you along the Wine Road at Winter Wineland.

Happy Sipping!