How To Have A Wine Tasting Party

You don’t have to be a wine expert to host a fun and educational wine tasting party. This is a great way to socialize with your friends and learn a little about wine at the same time.

Most wine lovers have taken the opportunity to participate in a wine tasting. So there's not too much to learn. Here are some thoughts on hosting a wine tasting party that is sure to be a success.

A common myth about wine is that it has to be expensive to be enjoyable. While there are certainly superb wines that are quite expensive, you can also find many wonderful wines that are under $10 a bottle.

Home wine tasting parties should be rather small gatherings. Anywhere from 4-8 friends is perfect. Tell each of your friends to bring a bottle of wine in the specific price range. Now there are two schools of thought on the types of wine to bring.

Some wine tasting parties feature all of the same type of wine, a Merlot, for example. Other wine tasting parties feature the variety of different wine types. In any case you can always throw a wine tasting party at home and make it really special event for you and your friends.

The expert opinions, or the price of the wine, matter little in regards to what is pleasing to your taste buds. Hosting a wine tasting party is an excellent way to expand your taste buds, find inexpensive wines that you enjoy and expand your knowledge of wine.

Also make sure you have a wine bucket handy with ice, or electronic wine chiller, in case one of your guests brings a wine that needs chilling. You can focus your wine tasting party on a particular style or theme that may compliment the dinner you will be serving later in the evening.

For example, if you intend on serving a nice tomato based pasta dish, ask your guests to bring a bottle of Merlot that is under $10. Setting a price limit helps prevent that one guest from trying to buy the best wine by bringing the most expensive wine.

The Process

Here is the basic process that you should follow for each bottle to do the tasting:

1. Place each bottle of wine in a brown bag and number the bag so the guests cannot see the label.

2. Prepare your table setting with glasses, crackers and some water for each guest. Crackers or bread can be used, but they should be of a neutral flavor. Stay away from flavored crackers so you can truly clear the palette.

3. Crackers and cheese may seem like a great idea, but should be avoided because the cheese will actually influence the flavors of the wine. If your guests may be hungry, a nice loaf of French bread can be used instead of crackers.

4. You should have a separate container for those guests who want to pour out the excess wine. Remember, this is about fun, education and friendship. Getting intoxicated is not the objective here and will most certainly deaden your taste buds.

5. Open the first bottle of wine and fill the glass only about 20%. For red wines, you may want the wine to breathe somewhat by pouring off about ½ glass from each bottle.

For white and blush wines you may want to chill slightly before serving. The tasting progression should go from sweet to dry, and whites to reds.

6. Rate each wine according to the senses of sight, smell and taste. You may find that you like the look of one wine over another, but prefer the aroma of the other. You may also find one wine with a wonderful aroma, but it may be too bitter for your liking.

Sight - The first step in the process is to examine the wine and make notes about the color, clarity and transparency of the wine. Rank the color of the wine on a scale of 1 to 10 based on your personal preferences. Record notes as necessary.

Smell - The second step is to smell the wine. Swirl the wine around in the glass to help awaken the aromas and take a good sniff of the bouquet and aroma.

Again rank the wine on a scale of 1 to 10 based on your personal preferences. Try to detect any subtle aromas in the wine. You will get better at this with experience.

Taste - Now the best part. Taste the wine. Take a small sip and roll the wine over your tongue inhaling slightly to release the full flavors.

Different parts of the tongue register different tastes so be sure to roll the wine around in your mouth. Try to focus on the characteristics of the wine such as the body, acidity, tannin (bitterness), sweetness and fruitiness of the wine.

Also be sure to focus on the aftertaste of the wine. Again, during your wine tasting party your guests should make notes on the flavors and subtleties of the wine and rate it on a scale of 1 to 10 based on your personal preferences.

Wine aromas change the longer they meet with the air. Have your guests inhale deeply and describe what they smell. Finally, have them taste the wine. It's interesting to note that when evaluating the wines, your guests will seldom show a consensus on which wine is "the best".

Once all of your guests have finished tasting the wine be sure to clean your glass or start with a fresh one. Also be sure each guest cleanses their pallet by eating a small cracker and/or drinking a small amount of water.

After you have cycled through all of the wines, have each guest finalize their notes and identify their most and least favorite wine for each of the three senses: sight, smell and taste. Each person should also pick their all-around favorite and least favorite wine.

Begin comparing notes for each of the wines. Once the favorites are identified by each individual, remove the bags from the wine bottles to identify the winners and losers.

If serving a meal afterwards, offer your guests some of the wine just sampled with the meal. This will further expand on the tasting process as foods are introduced to complement the wines.

This can be a fun and exciting way to host a wine tasting party in your home with some of your friends. Please be sure to drink responsibly and select a designated driver to ensure the safety of your guests.

If you want more information, or have a question about having a wine tasting party, contact me here.

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