Bonjour Rhys,

https://www.wordreference.com/fren/go%C3%BBter

goûter à  --  to taste a dish (for the first time)

goûter  -- to try / sample before serving.

Bonne journée

Jim

The two are very similar in meaning. although there's a slight difference:

goûter à qqc. -- to try something (in the sense of sampling the taste)
gouter qqc. -- to taste something

Often times, they are used interchangeably. But one of the natives may have a better understanding.