This tasting kit is survival gear for pros and enthusiasts alike.

Studying wine without the experience of tasting it in real-world settings such as trade events and seminars is frustrating at best. One elegant solution,
developed by author and educator Evan Goldstein, MS, and his business partner, Full Circle Wine Solutions CEO Limeng Stroh, has quickly become the gold standard of study tools for professionals and consumer enthusiasts.

I first learned of the Master the World (MTW) tasting kits in late 2018, when
Goldstein and Stroh mounted a successful Indiegogo campaign to launch their company. The kits contain six screw capped, 187-milliliter bottles of wine selected by a panel of Master Sommeliers and access to both a proprietary online-tasting platform and live webinars led by Goldstein and his colleagues.

“While we had planned for a soft launch once we went live in January 2020, the pandemic accelerated that launch to hang on and grow,” says Goldstein. “[In] the new normal of structured tastings being relegated to the confines of your dining room table or living-room couch, we have seen an enthusiastic response from the trade and consumers alike.”

With travel severely restricted during the lockdown—limiting access to field
research—keeping our tasting skills sharp has proven challenging. Here’s how three industry professionals are using their MTW kits to broaden their horizons.

Santa Cruz native Scott Thomasen is vice president of sales Mountain West, air, seas, and export markets for Vino del Sol, a regional importer of Argentine wine. “With a portfolio of 12 wineries, the kits help me understand other regions; they also keep me from becoming myopic and developing cellar palate,” he says, noting that two wines from the Vino del Sol portfolio are included in the kits for Argentina (as they were designed for blind tasting, we can’t disclose the labels here). “Most consumers aren’t aware of these wines, and it’s a great way to introduce them to these regions and producers.”

Wine Enthusiast’s Wine Star Awards 2020 Person of the Year Heidi Scheid
can’t wait for her kit to arrive each month. Scheid, who is also the executive vice president of Scheid Vineyards in Monterey County, participates in a tasting group with friends and family members, but she says that it’s not structured enough for someone who wants to constantly keep learning about wine: “When you’re on your own, it can be very hit-or-miss, [but] these kits work on so many different levels.”

Scheid adds that she gets the most out of her kits when she’s tasting along with the live webinar: “The presenters are such gifted speakers, and they make the information very accessible.” Then, when she and her partner taste together, he gets to enjoy the wines and she gets to exercise what she’s learned by acting as his guide. She also has high praise for the kits’ slick design and packaging developed by Goldstein and Stroh.

Kat Thomas, yoga instructor and former wine education and training manager at The Hakkasan Group in Las Vegas, Nevada, is preparing for the Master Sommelier exam and using the MTW kits to replicate the conditions of sitting for the tasting portion. She points to the webinars and online tools—including a “Full Workout” blind-tasting mode for sensory evaluation and a “Quick Picks” mode that encourages tasters to try to guess what’s in their glass—that Goldstein offers with each kit as the biggest value-add: “You have an opportunity to self-check against the tasting notes of the presenters during the live webinar and use the online tool.”

Thomas is also using the kits to lead a private class of eager consumers through blind-tasting sessions, the objective of which is enjoyment. As she explains, “The kits are perfect for exploring on your own, but many consumers genuinely enjoy having a guide.”