Organizing a wine tasting is a great way to do something different, fun and classy with your friends. If the usual beers and the same sad bowls of chips and hummus have tired you, then you should try to spice things up by organizing a wine tasting in the comforts of your own home. All you need are a few tools, a little knowledge and the desire to try something new. If you want to know how to organize a wine tasting that is even better than a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, then follow this guide.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Part One: Preparation
Step 1. Choose a theme
One of the most important things when organizing a wine tasting is the type of wine you want to try. There is no correct answer that will please your guests and ensure you have the perfect party, but here are some tips:
- Try different wines from a single region, such as Napa Valley, Santa Barbara, Willamette Valley, Rioja, New Zealand, southern France or any other region you like.
- Try a variety of wines from a single part of the world, such as for example only Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, the one produced exclusively in France or exclusively in Argentina.
- Do a horizontal type tasting. You could try only Chardonnays produced in 2012 in different parts of the world. However, they may be difficult to find.
- Try wines from only one producer. If you like a particular winemaker, for example Robert Mondavi, Cakebread, Stag's Leap or Duckhorn, try only the wines from this company.
- Try only red, white, sparkling or dessert wines. However, remember that dessert wines are usually sweeter and therefore more difficult to savor.
Step 2. Think about the foods to serve
You shouldn't eat while tasting, with the exception of bread or crackers, which will serve to cleanse the palate. You will then have to decide whether you want to offer your guests a light meal before the tasting or serve dinner, desserts or snacks after the tasting. The ideal thing to do would be to offer something to eat so that your guests don't get drunk without something to soak up the wine with.
You can alert your guests about food when you invite them, so they know whether to come with a full stomach already or if they will eat once they get to you
Step 3. Get the right wine glasses
It is not realistically possible to give your guests a new glass every time you try a new wine. A glass per guest will do just fine or, if you really want, a long, slightly oval glass for whites and a wider, rounder one for reds.
- Glasses should have a stem to prevent the wine from heating up when the guests hold it in their hands.
- The glasses should be transparent so that you can see the color of the wine.
Step 4. Get all the tools you need
In addition to wine glasses, there are various utensils that you will need to have when organizing a wine tasting. These are some to start with:
- Obviously, the wine. Choose the wine according to the theme you have decided. Usually, it is good to have wines that vary in price, from the cheapest to the most expensive, if you can afford it. Make sure you have enough wine for your guests: a bottle would be enough to pour 5 glasses of wine or enough for 6-10 people to taste.
- Spare corkscrew in case yours breaks.
- Bottle opener.
- A spittoon. This can be a large bowl in the center of the table or small plastic cups for each guest.
- A basket of ice to cool white wine. This will save you from rushing to open the refrigerator every time.
- White napkins. This will help your guests see the wine color profiles.
- A flavor evaluation grid. It will help you identify the flavors of the wines and write down impressions of them. You can find great ones online.
- An aerator or a wine decanter. This will help the wine to release its flavor.
- Bread and crackers to eat between one wine and another.
- Glasses of cold water for your guests along with a pitcher on the table.
Step 5. Invite your friends
The ideal number of people to invite for a wine tasting is between 6 and 12 people. If you have a large dining table, you can invite enough people to sit comfortably around the table. It wouldn't be nice to have guests standing up, which will make those seated feel uncomfortable. If you want to be more formal you can even send out invitations.
You should invite people whose knowledge of wine is similar to yours. If no one knows anything about it, that's okay, but you'll want to avoid embarrassing situations in which only one person knows nothing about wines or one in which one of the guests is an expert who will try to educate everyone on the differences between the various wines
Step 6. Choose a right time
You can organize a wine tasting at any time of the year. If you want a themed one, you could organize a tasting of white wines in the summer and one of red wines in the winter. Also, since you shouldn't eat while tasting or this will alter the flavors of the wine, you should invite your friends around four in the afternoon, when they haven't had dinner yet then, or after dinner, around 9, although it may be a little ' late.
Part 2 of 2: Part Two: Getting to Work
Step 1. Put everything on the table
Arrange the wines on the table so the guests can see which wines they are going to taste and will be even more excited about the idea. If the table is not large enough, arrange the wines on a prominent sideboard. Place the glasses, water, napkins, crackers, bread, paper cups or the spittoon.
Do not put flowers or aromatic candles. A strong smell can make it more difficult to recognize the taste of the wine. Opt for a bowl containing bunches of grapes maybe
Step 2. Perfect your sommelier skills
It doesn't take long to taste wine and look like a sommelier. Just tell the guests what wine they will taste, let them hold the glass in their hand and shake it for a couple of seconds to allow the wine to breathe, then let them smell it to get a better idea of its flavor. Afterwards, your guests should just sip the wine, keep it a little in their mouth and then swallow it or spit it out.
Step 3. Start enjoying the wine
Order is important when tasting wines. You should start with the lightest wine and work your way up to the full-bodied, then start with a light white wine and work your way up to a tasty, full-bodied red wine. If you have dessert wines, you should try them last, even if they are lighter than some red wines.
Wines similar to each other such as those from neighboring vintages should be tasted below
Step 4. Give people time to take notes
Give your guests time to take notes and get first impressions of the wines they have tasted. Some people may be a little shy about their impressions of wines because they don't feel they are experts, so make sure they are comfortable. Giving everyone a minute to think will prevent your guests from being influenced by each other. These are some of the things you should take notes on:
- Aromas and flavors. Any flavor or aroma that comes to mind should be pinned down, be it blueberry, honey, lemon, chocolate, pear, earth or pomegranate.
- Consistency and weight. Note if the wine is light and lively, full-bodied, rough or sweet.
- Equilibrium. Is the combination of flavors in the wine sweet, or does a particular flavor, such as oak or tannin, emerge on everyone?
- The perception of the wine once finished. Does the wine stay on the palate or does it disappear once swallowed? A good wine should stay.
Step 5. Don't get drunk
If you want to organize a good wine tasting, you should offer your guests a comfortable, relaxed and competent atmosphere. If you become self-conscious or say nonsense, your guests will not take the experience seriously and may stop paying attention to you. Instead, spit out more wine than you drink until the tasting is over and then start drinking for real, if that's your plan.
Step 6. Think about adding a game towards the end
If you want to raise the level of your tasting, you could organize a fun game in which you will put the wine bottles in a dark paper bag and pour the drink to your guests without telling them what wine it is. The winner may receive a prize in return or simply know that he is an expert sommelier.
Step 7. Serve some food later
If you want to make sure your guests aren't completely drunk, it's important to serve food. You could serve desserts if the time is right. If your guests are very hungry, however, it is obviously better to offer something more substantial, which allows them not to get drunk, without having to wait too long. These are some foods that go perfectly with wine:
- Ham and melon.
- Cheese.
- A light pear salad.
- Chocolate.
- Fruit compotes.
- Puddings.
