Welcome to Episode 1497, the Blind Guy’s Guide to Blind Tasting with Hoby Wedler, moderated by Dominga Cotarella This is the wine2wine Business Forum 2022 Series. The sessions are recorded and uploaded on Italian Wine Podcast. wine2wine Business Forum is an international wine business forum, held annually in Verona Italy since 2014. The event is a key reference point for wine producers and a diverse variety of wine professionals eager to develop and grow their wine business worldwide. About today’ session: We use all five senses to take in 100% of the information we experience in life. Eyesight comprises 85-90% of this information. Why? We will discuss and attempt to answer this question during this session. Sensory literacy is the ability to be able to take in data from all five senses, parse that data, and make logical conclusions. We will explore sensory literacy. Wine is a beverage that we all think we know and love. But when have we had the opportunity to taste wine without eyesight? In this educational and entertaining presentation, Dr. Hoby Wedler, Wine Educator and Ph.D. chemist, will walk participants through how wine is a near perfect example of the intersection of art and science. When we think about art and science, we tend to separate them into separate buckets in our minds. However, they are extraordinarily similar and have an exceptionally fine intersection between them. Wine straddles this introduction brilliantly and this presentation will explore this concept along with many more by considering both scientific and artistic aspects of grape growing, wine making, and wine tasting. Guests will be blindfolded and asked to prime their aromatic vocabularies with a series of aroma samples prepared by Hoby and his team. These aroma samples define olfactory vocabulary words, much like a dictionary provides definitions to words in written and spoken language. The experience will conclude with a tasting of four wines where we will smell, taste, and analyze the four wines in detail as a group. More about today’s speaker: Dr. Hoby Wedler is an insightful, disarming, and passionate thinker who loves to bring people together to help them see new possibilities. With the heart of a teacher, Hoby helps turn dreams into realities. Hoby has been completely blind since birth. He is a chemist, an entrepreneur, a sensory expert, and is driven by his passion for innovative, creative, and insightful thinking. Hoby is remarkably tuned into his surroundings and has frequently chosen to walk the unbeaten paths in life over known territories. In 2016, Hoby earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from UC Davis. In 2011, Hoby founded a non-profit organization to lead annual chemistry camps for blind and visually impaired students throughout North America. In the same year, he began opening doors to the world of wine aromas by developing Tasting in the Dark, a truly blindfolded wine experience, in collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola. He has since expanded the program to a global market in a variety of industries and special projects. Hoby uses his highly-trained palate and acute sensory insight of his surroundings in his work as a sensory expert and product development consultant. Over the years, Hoby has become a motivational speaker, a mentor, and an educator committed to making the world more inclusive and accessible for all. Forbes Media named Hoby as a leader in food and drink in their 30 under 30 annual publication. In 2021, Hoby was named a 40 under 40 Tastemaker by The Wine Enthusiast. Hoby is dedicated to impacting everyone he works with by unlocking doors, overcoming challenges, increasing awareness, and expanding their horizons. Connect: Instagram: @hobywedler Facebook: www.facebook.com/hobywedlerphd Twitter: @hobywedler LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hobywedler/ Website: www.hobywedler.com/