The
Easy Way to Learn Wine Tasting
There
are different styles of wine tasting parties that you can throw.
Two general tasting terms you may want to know are, Vertical Tasting
and Horizontal tasting. These are tasting terms used regularly in
the wine world. A Vertical Tasting consists of
tasting wines from several different vintages or years, that were
produced by one winery. A nice example of this would be tasting
Cabernet Sauvignon from Clos Du Bois spanning the “90”,
“91”, “92”, and “93” vintages.
This would let the tasters see how each vintage compared to the
next and also judge the aging process.
A Horizontal
Tasting consists of tasting wines from the same vintage
or year, represented by several different wineries. A nice example
of this would be tasting Cabernet Sauvignon from Joseph Phelps,
St. Francis, Chateau Souverain, and Robert Mondavi all from the
“1990” vintage.
To
make your event a bit more challenging, you can also offer a “blind
tasting” experience. In this case, you pour each
wine without identifying the label, allowing guest to incorporate
all of their senses to identify different aspects of the wine. For
example you can give the labels’ descriptions and see who
can match the descriptions with the wine. Or score who is able to
recognize the most about each wine giving a point value to characteristics
such as varietal, country of origin, vintage, price range or whatever
you think would be fun. The guest that is able to identify the most
wines or characteristics correctly wins a prized bottle of wine
or perhaps a book on the art of wine tasting.
Yet another
option is to do a food focused wine tasting party. For this style
of party I would suggest choosing 3 reds and 3 whites. You can pair
wine with food and/or cheese and the guests can decide which goes
best with which type of food. Or you can make cards up to point
out why each wine goes with each food, leaving out any competition
and just highlighting the wine and food.
I would suggest
keeping decorations simple. It is best to use white table clothes
or place mats when doing a wine tasting so that when you hold your
glass against it you see the true color of the wine. If you are
using candles it’s best to use unscented so that it doesn’t
interfere with the aroma of the wine.
Design a tasting
card that specifies the type of wine, the producing vineyard, the
year and a brief description of the wine (usually found on the wine’s
label). Make sure that each guest has their own tasting card to
record the wine’s distinct appearance, aroma, flavor, and
cheese pairing nuances.
It is also nice
to have a place mat designating where each wine will go. This helps
to keep everyone on track and from getting the glasses mixed up.
Have enough
wine for approximately 1 ½ ounces per tasting sample (1 bottle
usually serves 10 tasting samples) and a few extra bottles for drinking
after the tasting is finished. People usually like to further enjoy
the wines they just tasted.
Provide simple
hors d’oeuvres for the guests between wines, allows for guests
to cleanse their pallets and sets them up to fully experience the
next wine. You also want to limit the chances of your guests over-indulging
and driving home intoxicated. Some good choices are mild cheese
and crackers, bread, oyster crackers, popcorn (very nice with champagne),
and nuts. If you are feeling a little fancier you can also try some
smoked meats, mild chocolate, or fondue.
Typically, when
tasting wines, you will want to work from dry to sweet with white
wines and progress from light to full-bodied with red wines. Have
your guests sample each wine by itself, assessing the wine’s
unique color, smells, flavors and then introduce the appropriate
cheese pairing and have them reassess the wine’s qualities
in light of the subtle flavor changes.
I like to pour
all of the wine ahead of time and then let my guest sample the wine
at leisure adding their own notes to the “scorecards”
and sampling the different munchies. You can also have a designated
leader to talk about each wine as you go through the wines to have
a more structured tasting.
After the tasting
is over collect all the scorecards, core the wines, tally each taster’s
score and then rank all the wines. Have a quick announcement to
go over the favorite wines and/or the winners. Give out any prizes
you may have and then encourage everyone to enjoy some more food.
Some
tips and things to have on-hand at your wine tasting party are:
Bottled
Water or Pitchers of Water -Room temperature bottled
water is best. If it is too cold it can numb you tongue a bit and
that may effect you wine tasting. Guests may also use it to rinse
their glasses between wines if a new wineglass is not provided for
each wine.
Wine
Opener
and possible a spare so that you can have a friend help you open
all these bottles of wine.
Spit
Buckets - Some guests will spit a bit since they
are tasting so much wine. These buckets may also be used to pour
water into, if folks are rinsing their glasses. I’ve seen
small fish bowls used, metal Champagne buckets, cardboard cups,
and Tupperware bowls. I like to let everyone know ahead of time
that it is very okay to spit! Some people may not know that it is
proper and ok to spit.
Pens
and Tasting Note Sheets or Scorecards - Lots of
people will want to take these home with them so that they can remember
the great wines they tried. (See mine above!)
A
Wine Place Mat for each taster (contains a pattern
for placement of wineglasses). (See mine above!)
Wine
Glasses -A 12oz. (or bigger) glass for everyone.
Try to have the same style for each taster. Some hosts rent glassware
and actually provide a new glass for every person, for every wine.
It is a nice touch but can be a bit of a hassle to rent a bunch
of glasses. If you are going to insist that each guest reuses the
same wine glass through out the evening then provide enough bottled
water.
Food
- Prepared in advance.
Prize
– (optional) for a blind tasting winner.
Humor
– encourage your guests to share their thoughts and humor
on each wine
Music
- It’s always nice to have a good selection.
Learn More about Wine Tasting
If
you found this sight useful, please link to us so that others may
benefit.
For
more information contact us at postmaster@vinovixenz.com
with "Vinovixenz Partner" in the
subject line. We are usually able to reply within a single business
day.
ABOUT
US
- CONTACT US - SITE
MAP
|
