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The Sommelier Union Germany offers a blind tasting in a completely dark "Black Box" at ProWein. Eight people can participate in the 30-minute seminars in Hall 1, Stand E 121. In absolute darkness, all external factors that unconsciously influence perception during a wine tasting are excluded: colors, labels, and also the reactions of other participants. As experience shows, sensory perception changes without visual stimuli. The remaining senses are heightened, and concentration is solely on the taste, aroma, and texture of the wine. This creates a new objectivity in the assessment. Participants also exchange more openly and intensely about the tasted wines, as the fear of saying something wrong is eliminated. The seminars are led by experienced professionals and sommeliers such as Jörg Linke, Silvio Nitzsche, Christina Hilker, and Christian Frens, Vice President of the Sommelier Union Germany. For professionals, the challenge lies in determining grape varieties, vintages, alcohol content, and other parameters without notes or visual impressions. They must rely entirely on their memory and sensory impressions.
The concept of the "Black Box" was developed in 2007 by Christian Frens and Jörg Linke in collaboration with blind physiotherapist Florian Deroubaix. He says: "Wine shows in many ways how fundamentally perception when smelling and tasting can change in the dark. You have to have 'seen' that.(al / Source: Press Release)