The dates for our 2021 Blind Tasting remain tentative, due to Covid-19 spacing requirements. Yamhill County is currently "Low Risk" and we can seat up to 20 guests on our patio with open air and safe spacing.

April 17, 2021 -- Pinot Noirs from Burgundy, France.
June 19, 2021 -- Red vs. Black. Oregon pinot noirs, 4 from Dundee Hills (red-fruited Jory soil) and 4 from Yamhill-Carlton (black-fruited Marine Sedimentary soil).
August 21, 2021 -- Chardonnays from around the world. (California, France, Oregon, and more.)
October 30, 2021 -- Pinot Noirs from around the world. (Oregon, California, Burgundy, New Zealand, and more.)

Ticket pages for these events will go live closer to the dates. Watch this page, our events page, our Facebook events, or subscribe to our mailing list to receive event notifications.

All blind tastings begin promptly at 11am on Saturday mornings. Guests are asked to arrive a few minutes early, so we can start everyone at the same time.

What is a Blind Tasting?

Lenné Estate hosts several blind tastings each year. These events are open to the public and feature 8 wines for attendees to taste, rate, and rank. Each guest is furnished with eight glasses and is poured a taste of all the wines side-by-side, for easy comparison. Guests spend about half an hour tasting and evaluating and ranking their favorites.

Watch a video recording of a blind tasting from August 2020 here. (Part one and part two.)

The tasting and comparison is fun, but the real excitement comes during the reveal. Lenné staff double blinds all the selections; one person puts the bottles into bags, then a second mixes them up and numbers them 1-8. This way we don't have any idea which wine is which, same as the guests.

The reveal is done wine by wine, led by Lenne's proprietor/winemaker Steve Lutz. Steve is as in the dark as everyone else about which wines are which, and he starts with wine #1, asking who liked it or didn't, what people thought about it, etc, before pulling off the paper bag and revealing the identity.

Steve then speaks a bit about that wine, the region, the vineyard, the winemaking techniques, etc, giving guests insight into why each wine shows as it does. This continues wine by wine and often results in applause, laughter, or gasps of surprise as the group discovers what they really think about the wines that they've never before truly blind evaluated.

The blind tasting concludes with lunch via a hearty antipasto board featuring meats, cheeses, breads, crackers, vegetables, pickles, olives, and other such fare. There are usually a few ounces left in each bottle, giving attendees the chance to revisit.

Our blind tastings are themed so the wines offered are related and comparable. Examples:

High end Oregon Pinot Noirs; all wines retail for $100+.
French Burgundies; 7 Pinot Noirs from France + 1 Lenne wine.
Red vs. Black -- Oregon Pinot noirs, 4 from Dundee Hills (red-fruited from the volcanic Jory soil) and 4 from Yamhill-Carlton (black-fruited from marine-sedimentary soil).
Oregon chardonnays, or Chardonnays from around the world.
Pinot Noir around the world, typically includes wines from California, Oregon, France, and New Zealand.

The blind tastings at Lenne are limited to 20 attendees (we typically have one bottle of each of the wines) and the ticket price includes the tasting, all the info of the presentation, lunch, and revisits or bonus pours afterwards.

Please let us know if you have additional questions or would like to book some spot(s) in our next blind tasting. Email us at eric@lenneestate.com or call the tasting room: 503-956-2256.