Download:
easy
tasting sheet
- advanced
tasting sheet - blind
tasting sheet - tasting
notes - wine
tasting placemat
A
Wine Tasting Party is an
ideal way to get friends
and family together to learn
about wine and experiment
with new or unusual varietals.
It can help to break the
ice and give your partygoers
some great conversation
down the line. I myself
had a wine tasting bridal
shower. Rather than the
usual shower games we tried
different wine and paired
yummy food with it. It was
a great icebreaker and gave
guest that didn't know each
other something to chat
about.
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
