On a normal visit to the Seattle Space Needle, the view would be a highlight. But our recent trip was a bit unusual. After putting on blindfolds, we were led into a room and seated at a table with strangers. It was all part of the Coppola Winery’s “Tasting in the Dark” program, which my wife and I were fortunate enough to attend.
There are four wine glasses in front of you, said the comforting voice of our “wine angel.” I fumbled around for a bit, feeling the plate of cheese and the glasses, trying to make sense of what was right in front of me. The combination of wearing a blindfold and being led into an unfamiliar space heightened my senses. There was nervous laughter around our table as we introduced ourselves to our unseen companions.
The Coppola Winery’s “Tasting in the Dark” was a thrilling new way for my wife and I to experience wine. We were fortunate to have the experience come to us, but you can also try this for yourself during a visit to the Coppola Winery in California. The program was created by Hoby Wedler, a UC Davis graduate who is himself blind.
The program begins with a few exercises around smell that focus and fine tune your sense before tasting the wine. It was surprising just how well this approach worked. We sniffed a few glasses that contained common notes from wine (e.g. charred oak, lemon, vanilla). The process made you focus on what your nose was telling you instead of relying on visuals that often drive how we think of wine. There is a reason why most people purchase wine based on the design of the label.
After fine tuning our senses, we moved on to tasting the Coppola wines. We were still blindfolded at this point. Mr. Wedler led us through each of the four vintages, asking the group to share what notes we picked up and guesses at the type of wine. I liked this experience because it made me think differently about white wines, which I might have otherwise dismissed for a bold red.
It was also very interesting to see how the flavors of the wine changed depending on which part of the tongue I was using to taste, if I tilted my head forward or back, breathing through the wine, or when I paired the wine with cheese. One of the most surprising moments was when Mr. Wedler had us cover the glass with our hand, swirled it, and then inhaled deeply. The process intensified the aroma of the wine and made it much easier to detect the notes in each glass.
We later learned that we had been tasting a few selections from the Coppola Diamond Collection of wines. The Claret was my favorite, and is something I often will drink at home. But I was surprised with the Chardonnay, as it isn’t a type of wine I usually drink. The tasting in the dark experience really made me think about the wine differently instead of dismissing it based on appearance.
We eventually wrapped up the wine tasting and removed our blindfolds. It took a few minutes to reorient ourselves to the room. It was the first time seeing the people around the table who I had been speaking with for about an hour. And I finally got to take in the Seattle skyline view as dinner was served.
I had an opportunity to hear Francis Ford Coppola speak at a conference earlier this year. He talked about how he got into the wine business and how much the winery meant to him personally and his family. He viewed winemaking as an art form that was all about the details, just like his storied movie making career.
During dinner, we were served a selection from Coppola’s Director’s series of wine which reminded me of Coppola’s filmmaking heritage and passion for storytelling. Each wine told a story about the craftsmanship that went into the bottle. “Tasting in the Dark” helped me fine tune my senses so that I could understand new elements of the wine and left me with an enhanced appreciation of Coppola’s wine craft.
Thank you very much to the Coppola Winery, all of the staff, and Mr. Wedler for a wonderful evening. It truly was a unique and very special experience.
