How to Host a Wine Tasting

Coming up with a theme for a wine tasting requires some imagination; you have so many choices! To begin, decide whether the tasting will be vertical or horizontal.

A vertical tasting features the same brand of wine from different vintages: for example, Winery X Cabernet Sauvignons from 1995 to 2000. A horizontal tasting includes wines from different wineries that are the same type and vintage: for example, six different bottles of Alsace Gewurztraminer, each with a vintage date of 2000. A horizontal tasting can be as basic as comparing newly released varietals (like Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay) that are from the same appellation or growing area. Or it can be much more complicated; it's up to you!

Many resources are available to assist in coming up with a theme. If your group is just beginning to acquire some wine knowledge, a reliable wine merchant should be happy to suggest wines that fit the theme. If you're operating within a budget, let the merchant know up front. Don't make the mistake of pumping the merchant for advice and then going to a discounter to get a cheaper price; you make no friends that way.

Perhaps the next best thing to a wine merchant is a magazine or newspaper. Such publications are usually available at newsstands and wine shops. Or go online to find a helpful site. These sources feature wine-tasting notes, sometimes with point scores or evaluation symbols, sometimes without.

Obtain the wines that fit the theme. The individual paper bag in which each wine is wrapped before it leaves the store can be used to conceal the wine's identity at the tasting. Make sure there are enough bags for all the wines (perhaps before you leave the store).

If the group can afford it, taste better-quality wines. Ordinary wines are for everyday drinking, not for group deliberation. Moderate-quality wines afford good tasting practice and can be interesting but often reflect a "sameness" that makes comparison difficult. The most vivid characteristics of a growing area or a vintage are most easily identified in a wine of higher quality.

Do some research on the wines to be tasted. Call the wineries or visit their Web sites for winemaker's production data and tasting notes. Telephone numbers and Web addresses can often be found on back labels. Also consider copying pertinent tasting notes from published sources, and distribute them at the discussion stage of the tasting.

A few weeks in advance of the tasting, the host should remind everyone of the date and time. If all or most of your friends have e-mail, this should be a quick and easy task. Include the theme of the tasting, and remind the tasters to bring their own glassware, unless the host is providing the glasses. Also request that the participants avoid wearing cologne or perfume to the event.

It's Almost Tasting Time!

If the wines are in the refrigerator, remove them about one hour before the start of the tasting so they can warm up a bit; wine that's too cold can't be adequately evaluated. Remove the foil capsules, pull the corks, and bag each wine. Secure the top of each bag with a rubber band, or simply twist the top of the bag around the neck of the bottle. Leave the task of numbering or lettering the bags to another participant (who hasn't seen the wines being bagged), so that you can taste them blind too.

Get the table area set up with enough chairs for the participants. If possible, use a white table cover to make color and clarity evaluations easier. Each place setting should have either a small spit bucket or a large plastic cup. Spitting is highly recommended to keep as clear a head as possible while all the wines are being evaluated. The group's evaluation and reporting forms should also be at each place setting.

Put out a sufficient quantity of sliced plain baguettes and pitchers of water to act as palate cleansers. A water glass at each setting is thoughtful, as is a pencil or pen. Keep the tasting area free of strongly scented things, such as flowers or cooked foods.

For some final thoughts on how to get the most out of your wine-tasting experience, see the following page.

There are some simple steps you can take to ensure that your wine tasting is a sparkling success.

No smoking and go easy on the cologne or perfume. Smoking at a tasting may be inconsiderate, even offensive, to many people, but it also seriously impairs the ability of the smoker and others nearby to evaluate the wines. For the same reason, avoid heavy use of cologne or perfume.

Keep talking to a minimum during evaluation. Although a wine tasting doesn't have to be a solemn occasion, it also shouldn't be a gab session, at least not until after the rankings (and scores, if used) have been turned in. There's nothing more distracting than a chatterbox, except maybe two chatterboxes, in the tasting room.

Offer a short introduction. The host should give the tasters some general information about what's in front of them. For example: "These are Pinot Noirs from the 2000 vintage; all come from Santa Barbara County. Prices range from $18 to $25."

Pour small tasting portions. Wine glasses, one for each wine, should be set out in a semicircle in front of each taster. The bagged bottles (which have been numbered or lettered by someone other than the host) should be passed among the tasters so each can pour a small sample (approximately two ounces).

Consider purchasing a pouring disc, a great, inexpensive, reusable tool that facilitates pouring in measured amounts without dripping. Made of flexible heavy foil, these discs fold into a funnel shape and fit into the bottle opening. They come several to a packet and can be found in most wine stores.

If desired, tasters' glasses can be lettered or numbered on the base with a wet-erase pen, available at most stores that sell stationery or office supplies. This avoids confusion if the glasses are moved out of order at some point. The number or letter on each glass should conform to the number or letter on the bag concealing the wine. The ink readily washes off the glass in warm water.

Hold off on eating until later. Spicy, aromatic foods, like sausages and heavy cheeses, can get in the way of pure wine evaluation. Sliced baguettes and cubes of mild, white cheese or simple water (without flavoring) are sufficient to clear the palate between sips. If desired, appetizers or a light meal can be organized to follow the tasting, or you can all sit down to a full meal; there you can resume social interaction and see how perceptions of the wines change when enjoyed with food.

Discuss the wines. After the tabulations are complete, the wines should be unbagged one by one. For added interest, move from the last-place wine to the first-place wine. The tabulator should announce each wine's group ranking and total ranking points and, if scores are submitted, the average score (add all the scores together and divide by the number of members submitting scores).

After all the results have been announced, a discussion may be held, with a participant selecting one wine to talk about, followed by another member offering his or her comments about the same wine, and so on around the table.

Before your friends go their separate ways that day, take the opportunity to discuss the next wine tasting. Who will be the host and when and where will it be?

With very little effort, your circle of friends can get together on a regular basis to enjoy and broaden their knowledge and appreciation of one of life's greatest pleasures.

By following the easy tips in this article, you too can start to become an expert in one of the world's most sophisticated and elegant cultural treasures: the art of wine.

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