Flying blind: oenophiles are put to the test with blind tastings at Varietal in New York City.

The debut of Varietal, a wine bar and restaurant in Manhattan's trendy Chelsea neighborhood this past December, caused quite a buzz among wine enthusiasts. Word was that the place offers a blind tasting flight. Feeling brave, I decided to have a go at it.

Owner Greggory Hockenberry comes from a chef background, but has also pursued an avid interest in wine. When he became the proprietor of Varietal, he decided to offer the "Master of Wine Flight" as homage to those who have studied for the coveted wine qualification and thus underwent the blind tastings that are an integral part of the exam. Hockenberry explains, "I love to taste blind, and feel it is educational to train the palate without any influences beyond your senses." He also admits to creating the flight just to have a little fun.

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Seated in the front lounge area at Varietal, I asked Hockenberry to pour anything he'd like as long as it wasn't too obscure. He approached with a tray of red wines, each tagged in numerical order. The bar is an ideal spot for blind tastings; Hockenberry designed it with a well lit, white glass and quartz bar top that is near-perfect for assessing a wine's color.

Swirling and then taking a sniff of glass No. 1, I detected vanilla oak and generous fruit. It seemed obviously New World and my guess was possibly a Merlot, due to a stem-like quality I sometimes get from the grape.

Next up, No. 2. I sniffed an elegantly earthy nose that certainly seemed Old World, in a crowd-pleasing kind of way. Tempranillo from Spain, maybe?

The third was intense, like candied strawberries. There was no doubt that this wine was New World, but for the life of me I couldn't detect any variety, let alone terroir, beyond the chemical-like fruit.

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FUN FINDS

When my wines were revealed I discovered I was way off the mark, though Hockenberry shared that he'd given me fairly obvious pours, save for the first one. Shame on me! Glass No. 1 turned out to be Castillo de Almansa Garnacha Tintorera DO 2005, a grape varietal with which I'm not familiar but pledged to explore further.

The second vessel held the Pascual Toso Barrancas Vineyards Single Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. That was a humbling moment; how could I not recognize one of the most obvious varieties out there? In any case, I was pleased that the winery in Mendoza, Argentina made such elegant wines. The fruit bomb of the flight--No. 3--turned out to be the Montes Alpha Syrah Colchagua Valley 2003.

Blind tastings are fun, if you're not afraid to make a fool out of yourself. It is a practice that forces you to consult your memory bank of wine experiences. Modern times, however, have made it harder to taste blind.

"There is so much more non-traditional wine being made with global varietals," agrees Hockenberry. "Fruit forward wines with higher alcohol levels seem to be in vogue, and winemakers around the world are responding to this market [trend]. In that respect, there are a lot of wines out there that for the most part all taste the same."

Having said that, our host says he is usually impressed by the level of expertise among those who step up for the $18 blind tasting, noting that Varietal gets between five and 10 takers a week. "Strangely enough, most people guess the harder wines and miss the obvious."

While Hockenberry may stump even those who consider themselves experienced tasters--and perhaps make an interesting point about winemaking trends--no one leaves empty handed. First, there's the potential for discovering a new wine--always a win! Then, there are the unique touches at Varietal, like sleek takeaway cards bearing the name of the poured wine tagged onto glasses used for the numerous non-blind tasting flights, and note pads for jotting down tasting impressions.

Varietal has all the trimmings of a foodie and wine geek hangout: numerous wine flights, 75 wines by the glass, a brilliant chef (Ed Witt, formerly of Il Bucco) and a creative pastry chef (Jordan Kahn). This place was created with the well-palated crowd in mind. Yet Hockenberry wants Varietal to be a celebration of wine, no matter how advanced or basic one's wine knowledge.

"Our aim is to present our customers with an array of wines by the glass in a comfortable, non-intimidating yet chic setting," he says. "Wine is subjective, so our mission is not to tell you what to drink or what is the better wine, but to present the wines and let you decide."

Pameladevi Govinda is a New York-based wine, spirits, travel and lifestyle writer. Her contributions have appeared in a number of industry and consumer magazines.