Wine tasting is an imperfect science; labels, pricing, food and the environment will influence the taste of wine. This is why professionals consider blind tasting a more impartial way of evaluating. Without peripheral factors, the wine's merits will be judged only by what is in the glass.
One of the most famous blind-tasting competitions was the "Judgment of Paris" in 1976, organised by English wine merchant Stephen Spurrier, when a selection of top California wines beat premier chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon labels from Bordeaux and Burgundy. The event was later made into the Hollywood film Bottle Shock.
Time magazine journalist George Taber, who covered the event, said the results forced experts to re-evaluate their perceptions and the potential of wines produced in California.
In a similar vein, iconic Chilean wine producer Vina Sena has set out to prove that its wines can compete with the best of France and Italy. In 2004, Sena's wine (it is known for its cabernet sauvignon blend), tasted alongside Super Tuscans and Bordeaux first-growths, ranked among the favourites at the Berlin Tasting, also organised by Spurrier.
In subsequent tastings around the world - including in Hong Kong, Seoul and Taipei - Sena has consistently beaten Bordeaux as a top pick. As Sena collaborator Eduardo Chadwick, of Viña Errazuriz, says: "Now the world knows that Chile produces world-class wines."
