.: A Matching Set of Tastevin :.

Now we have a small collection of copper and silver-plate tastevin (Probierschale or sampling dishes) all from the same chateaux of Bourgegones Patriarche. This house of Alain Patriarche began producing wine in the Burgundy region of France in 1780 and designed these shallow cups for vintners inspecting the stocks aging in the cellars in order not just to taste the wines but to better visually gauge the quality. The inspectors would have done their work by candle light and the reflective and beveled convex design would have captured and focused the scarce light to help judge the colour detect impurities. Even after the introduction of modern lighting, these particular tastevin were produced out of a sense of tradition until 1950.