Trained in chemistry and born blind, Hoby Wedler, an entrepreneur and sensory expert, has trained his palate to pick up aromas and nuances in wine more acutely than most.  Hoby describes how he does "Tasting in the Dark," which helps wineries connect with buyers and his thoughts on accessibility in the wine industry. Detailed Show Notes: Hoby's backgroundBorn blind, studied history and chemistry (Ph.D.)Francis Ford Coppola asked him to design a blindfolded wine experience, which became "Tasting in the Dark"Went into food & beverage, consulting on product development, comparative set tastings, and aligning wines with wine critics' palatesTasting in the Dark structureTry to make people feel comfortable under blindfoldUse eye masks to change attention away from sightPrime the aromatic vocabulary w/ samples of aromas found in winesCreate memories through a truly blind tastingMost impactful for trade teams, distributors, buyers, and for higher-end wines w/ 3-tier distributionE.g., Coppola did tasting for Safeway Group (grocery w/ wine stewards) and saw a significant increase in sales at Safeways for 5+ years afterwardReasons people buy wineLike the labelRead about the wineLike the story, particularly for premium wines ($20+)Most consumers don't know what they're looking forBlind tasting helps imprint a story with the wine in people2018 - Thomas Keller used Tasting in the Dark to train front-of-house staff to enable them to describe food and drinks betterAligning w/critics' palatesMostly aligned on aromatics and mouthfeel, abv levelsWineries can adjust when to send certain wines to criticsSometimes helps wineries w/ blendingWine & accessibilityChapoutier is classic example w/ braille labelsAccessible websites importantQR Codes put in the same place can help bring people to accessible websitesThis can lead to unexpected benefits; e.g., wheelchair ramps were found to be useful to many more than those in wheelchairs Get access to library episodes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.