Stop letting appearance, i.e., visual cues, cloud your 🍷 wine tasting evaluation. In this video, I unveil the main reason why wine appearance should be assessed last and how to train your senses for unbiased wine evaluation. Here's what I cover. - The hidden biases caused by focusing on wine appearance first   - Why the traditional 5S tasting method can mislead even experts   - Real scientific experiments showing how color affects aroma perception   - Practical steps for evaluating wine using smell and taste before sight   - When and why is visual assessment still important for judging wine quality Have you ever been misled by a wine color?

#ThrowbackThursday I started Curious Palates in August 2025 and launched it in early September, only with a vague concept of what it would be: my top-of-funnel. My idea was to create a free space for people signing up for one freebie or buying my low-priced aroma wheel, so they could engage with me, get support, and discover the power of sensory tasting to become more discerning tasters and enjoy wine. Having my first members looked like success at the time. They joined from my email list or from Skool. After 3 months, I realized members came with many different goals or “expertise levels”. So it was difficult to address all their aspirations under one roof. So, I recently revised my objective for the community: to take members on the path to wine-tasting confidence. I launched this week the Premium and VIP tiers to communicate my intent, clarify what members can expect, and attract the right people. Time will tell. Why offering a free tier seems right with my top-of-funnel concept, I’m considering moving to all paid tiers so members who join have “skin in the game”. I would tell my past self: clarity comes with action. I learned a lot during these 3 months, and I hope the new path I created will serve both OG and new members in their goals.

When I started Tinker & Type, I thought it would be a small place to collect my thoughts so they didn’t keep rattling around in my head. A quiet corner where I could make sense of how I work, and maybe help a few other creative people feel less scattered too. The problem I was trying to solve was my own overwhelm first, and then I realized how many other creative business owners were carrying the same thing. So many ideas, so much responsibility, and not a lot of systems that actually fit real life. Especially if you’re juggling kids, shops, side projects, and a brain that refuses to be linear. I did have a bigger vision even then. I’ve always believed in having a plan. What I didn’t have yet was the understanding that the plan didn’t need to be built all at once. Back then, success looked like small proof points. A few people inside Tinker & Type feeling calmer after a post, or saying “okay, I can actually do this.” That felt like enough to keep going. What surprised me was how deeply that approach resonated. People weren’t avoiding big goals. They were just exhausted from trying to execute everything simultaneously. They wanted direction and breathing room. A long view paired with smaller steps that didn’t require burning everything down to make progress. If I could tell past me one thing, it would be this: it’s okay to hold a bigger plan while only working on one small piece at a time. Vision doesn’t require urgency. Momentum comes from letting the work unfold in a way that fits your actual life.

The original idea: “I thought my group would be a tiny table in the back of the internet where a few tired humans whispered, ‘Is it just me?’” The problem I wanted to solve. For whom? It started with teachers. Now it’s for anyone who’s overworked, underpaid, and side-eyeing their calendar every Sunday night. If you’ve ever thought, “I can’t keep doing life like this,” it's the right place. My first goal: Success looked like helping a handful of people make money without sacrificing sleep, sanity, or every free minute they had left. Small wins. Real relief. What surprised me: How quickly “a little extra income” turned into confidence. How many people didn’t need motivation. They needed permission. What I’d tell past me: Relax. You’re not late. You’re early. Build the room. The right people will pull up a chair.

If you enjoy wine but still hesitate when it’s time to share what you taste…this is for you. Curious Palates is for people who are tired of: - Pretending they “get it” - Memorizing descriptors that don’t feel natural - Staying quiet because they’re afraid of saying the wrong thing You don’t need more wine facts. You need practice that trains you, not the wine. That’s exactly what *Curious Palates* is built for. What we actually do in Curious Palates We champion sensory-first wine tasting. That means: - You learn to trust your own perceptions - You practice describing what you experience - You build confidence through repetition, not performance No scripts. No “wrong answers.” No pressure to sound like an expert. It's free to join. Curious Palates now has two membership levels for people who want more than casual exploration. 🔵 Premium For wine lovers who want to explore the guided sensory practice. - One wine style discovery per month - Short lessons + guided tastings to develop your wine senses - Confidence grows month by month 🟣 VIP For those who want to expand their sensory repertoire and become a more discerning taster. - Everything in Premium - 8–12 new sensory attributes learned per month - A structured sensory training + tasting validation Both are about one thing: feeling comfortable speaking about wine—in your own words. Interested? Join us at Curious Palates. Isabelle 🥂