Online and offline wine tastings

Mystery Tasting started as an interactive online wine tasting initiative during the Covid pandemic, but meanwhile we are offering both online, physical and bespoke wine tasting events for wine lovers, students, groups and companies mainly in Belgium.

Founder by Peter and Stijn, two experienced wine educators, you are guaranteed to learn something about wine in a fun, interactive and entertaining way.

Learn more about our offering below or contact us for more information on a personalized tasting session. Sessions are typically hosted in English, but upon request we can also do these in Dutch and/or French.

A new way of online tasting

Our online wine tasting concept is geared towards wine lovers and wine students that want to learn how to taste better while having some fun at the same time.

Tasting in group and calibrating your tasting notes against others is one of the best ways to learn how to taste. Unfortunately with all the Covid restrictions, tastings are getting scarce and less joyful, and not everyone lives near a tasting group. And although there are many virtual wine events, most are “dry” in both meanings of the word: there is no wine provided and there is very little interactivity or fun.

Our online group tastings take a unique approach:

  • We all taste and analyze the same wines  using the WSET systematic approach to tasting (SAT)
  • We take live votes from all participants, and build a group tasting note. We then discuss the result and give tasting guidance, so you can compare with your own findings and calibrate your palate.
  • We also play play a fun and educational quiz where you can try to guess the wine and answer some trivia questions.
  • All this is mixed up with an overview of the key factors of the wine and its region of origin, in a format familiar to WSET students. The perfect way to reinforce your knowledge while having fun!

After the session we send you a detailed tasting note (see example here), a copy of the presentation and a recording of the session, so you can re-taste the wine again afterwards, or catch up in case you missed a session.

We already hosted more than 20 sessions of our mystery tastings, with over 200 people participating in total, and the feedback was unanimously positive!

Interested? Then join us for our next round...
Vote on the different characteristics of the wine (color, smell and taste aspects) and compare your result with that of the group.
Participate in our quiz: try to guess the grape variety and origin of the wine and answer some trivia questions related to the wine.

Online sessions 

We are considering new sessions as of Autumn 2022... stay tuned!

Physical tastings in Brussels 

As much fun as an online tasting can be, nothing beats a real physical tasting with like-minded wine lovers. The schedule for the new season is now online. Check out a range of exciting taste adventures as from October 2023.

At our tasting room in Brussels (Laeken) we are also available for private tastings and courses, but we can also do this at a location of your choice. Contact us for details.

If you want to stay informed about all of our upcoming tasting events, both physical and online, then please subscribe to our mailing list.

Bespoke or company tasting?

Would you like to organize a wine tasting within your company or organization as a team building or corporate incentive, or just among wine-loving friends? We can offer you tailored sessions to fit your needs with the right mix of "edutainment" and less focused on the technical aspects of wine tasting. We can do this online (with wines shipped to participants) or onsite in English, Dutch or French. Please contact us for more details.

What our attendees thought...

  • Expertly led workshops, interesting wines, fun concept.
  • Very educational and professional tastings with a bit of fun as well.
  • Amazing nice discoveries together with so great learning. Precious to complement my WSET courses.
  • Great covid proof wine experience with wine enthusiasts Peter and Stijn!
  • Super interactive sessions from the comfort of your home - an ideal way to keep up your tasting skills and discover new wines!
  • I passed my WSET 3 thanks to you guys! Not only the tasting but also the theory revision is great. I will be coming back for more as I continue with WSET 4!
  • Great experience! Good balance between fun and learning. 
  • What a pleasure to be able to develop tasting skills with reference wines and to connect with partners in wine passion.
  • Tasting and theory are very complementary! The quiz is certainly valuable and exciting!
  • Not just fantastic sessions but also a great way of meeting new people with the same passion!
  • Best virtual wine tasting I have had in a long time. Love these guys!
  • Great way to continue WSET-style tasting from the comfort of your living room!
  • Warning: once you start you never stop to subscribe!
  • Perfect tasting training and calibration among peers
  • Insightful, fun and quality wines!
  • This beats Zoom yoga! :)

Who are we?

Peter Arijs

A distinction-level WSET Diploma graduate and award winner with a passion for blind tasting. Peter works as an independent wine consultant and educator specialized in Spanish wines. He is an educator for the Spanish Wine Scholar program, an ICEX certified Spanish Wine Specialist and a certified Rioja Wine Educator. 
Best Belgian Taster 2021

  
 

Stijn Verleyen

Stijn's passion for wine resulted in a series of certificates and diplomas, with WSET Diploma (2018) as the (provisional?) end point. Like Peter, he won the Royal Tokaji Prize for his final exam. Furthermore, he is a certified educator for Languedoc-Roussillon. Stijn teaches for Syntra and Winewise, mostly in Brussels.
Best Belgian Taster 2022

  

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