Season 4: “So, You Think you Know Wine?”

Blind Tasting meets Family Feud

WineAlign is pleased to launch a new season of “So, You Think You Know Wine?”. Season 4 is a departure from the previous critic-against-critic challenge of past episodes. This time the competition has a game show/family feud feel with tasters battling against each other in teams, rather than individually. As always, the competitors have the daunting challenge of identifying the wine with only their nose, eyes, and palate – no other clues are given. You’ll soon find out that team work has many advantages, and also a few disadvantages. As the season progresses the teams start to gel and we iron out a few kinks. Click here to watch Round #1 or read on to learn more about the teams.

The Teams

With tons of group interaction and discussion, and yes, even some trash talk, this season of SYTYKW is sure to surprise and entertain. We’ve brought back many of your favourite competitors and have added a few new faces to the mix. All of our teams include seasoned wine professionals from around the country.

Representing Whole Bunch Press are Anthony Gismondi, Janet Dorozynski and Rhys Pender, MW. The members of this team are not new to us as they are all WineAlign critics, but this season marks their first appearance on SYTYKW.

Whole Bunch Press; So, You Think You Know Wine?

Whole Bunch Press: Anthony Gismondi, Janet Dorozynski
and Rhys Pender, MW

You are sure to recognize the familiar faces of the Raiders of the Lost AOC team. All long-time WineAlign critics, this team combines three seasons of SYTYKW experience. Please welcome back Sara d’Amato, Steve Thurlow, and Season 2 Champion John Szabo, MS.

Raiders of the Lost AOC; So, You Think You Know Wine?

Raiders of the Lost AOC: John Szabo, MS, Sara d’Amato
and Steve Thurlow

Inglorious Bitters includes our Season 3 champion, Toronto sommelier Zoltan Szabo, and aligns him with two new WineAlign critics: Treve Ring from Victoria and Bill Zacharkiw from Montreal.

Inglorious Bitters; So, You Think You Know Wine?

Inglorious Bitters: Bill Zacharkiw, Treve Ring, Zoltan Szabo

The Good, The Bad, and The Blind sees SYTYKW veteran David Lawrason return to the table alongside video newcomers DJ Kearney, a WineAlign critic from Vancouver, and Brad Royale, a wine consultant from Calgary.

The Good, The Bad, and the Blind; So, You Think You Know Wine?

The Good, The Bad, and the Blind: David Lawrason, DJ Kearney, Brad Royale, with referee Amil Niazi

Our host, Amil Niazi, is back to keep score and act as referee…

The Scoring

The teams debate the characteristics of each wine to come to a consensus as to what they think the wine is and their conclusions are submitted to Amil in writing. Each team then announces their decision and the wine is revealed. The scoring on each wine remains similar to past episodes with points for Variety, Country, Region, Appellation and Vintage, and a little less emphasis on Price this season.

Round 1

Let the games begin! Pour yourself a glass of wine and Watch Round #1 here.

We hope that you find this new format entertaining and that you have as much fun watching as we did filming. As usual, please send your comments to [email protected] and feel free to share this video with your friends and family.

Special thanks to our glassware sponsor, Schott Zwiesel, for their beautiful glasses and carafes used during filming.