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March 5, 2015

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Blind wine taster makes a name for himself in US

He鈥檚 used those two traits 颅鈥 and a refined sense of smell and taste 鈥 to develop an expert palette that is garnering rave reviews in California鈥檚 wine region.

The Sacramento Bee reported that Wedler鈥檚 monthly 鈥淭asting in the Dark鈥 series at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery is growing in popularity. Participants are blindfolded and asked to taste and judge wine like Wedler does.

鈥淗e鈥檚 bringing a new dimension to our field and getting people to look at wine in a different way. It鈥檚 breaking down barriers,鈥 said Corey Beck, president and director of winemaking at the Geyserville winery. 鈥淗ere鈥檚 somebody who鈥檚 blind, and he鈥檚 better at describing the wine than 99.9 percent of the winemakers out there.鈥

He鈥檚 been asked to put his palette to work tasting beer and food as well. The Sierra Nevada brewery in Chico sold out a 鈥淭asting in the Dark鈥 beer tasting event hosted by Wedler.

His sense of smell is so heightened that he can know what various intersections in Davis smell like. The city itself, Wedler says, smells like alfalfa.

鈥淚 pay a lot of attention to detail,鈥 Wedler said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always loved relying on my sense of smell to tell me where I am. I don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 better than anyone else鈥檚, but I focus on smell and hearing to get around, so in that sense, they are enhanced because I rely on them more.鈥

Wedler also operates a nonprofit that conducts three-day science camps for the blind. Wedler鈥檚 been honored at the White House for his work inspiring disabled people.

Wedler was born with a rare disorder that required the surgical removal of his eyes.

鈥淚 was devastated,鈥 Wedler鈥檚 mother Terry Wedler said when told her son was blind soon after his birth. Lying in bed after the birth, the veteran school teacher decided to dedicate her professional life to educating the blind.

鈥淗e was born a really inquisitive little person,鈥 Terry Wedler said. 鈥... We smelled things all the time. He just explored the world that way and it kept expanding.鈥


 

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