| So you want to host a wine tasting? Make it fun! | | | | find in the marketplace. While it is generally best |
| Wine tasting doesn't have to be a stuffy affair. | | | | to stick to one region or style of wine, if you |
| After all, wine is first and foremost about | | | | really want to challenge your guests you can |
| pleasure. So even if you are trying to organize an | | | | include several wines from the same vintage but |
| education tasting, you should keep it enjoyable. | | | | from different regions, grapes or countries to help |
| One of the best ways to keep your guests | | | | learn about the, sometimes dramatic, differences |
| interested and focused on the wine while having a | | | | between them. |
| great time is to plan a fun wine tasting theme. A | | | | Wine Region Theme: |
| cohesive theme helps keep the tasting focused | | | | A great way to learn a lot about a particular wine |
| and helps to get guests involved, drawing them | | | | region is to host a tasting where the theme is |
| out to comment on and discuss the wines. After | | | | just one wine producing area. Choose several |
| all, the discussion is what is really the most fun | | | | wines produced in that region, from different |
| and educational, not just tasting the wines. | | | | producers, vineyards and sub-regions within the |
| Otherwise you could just have wine tastings all | | | | area. As you and your guests taste through |
| alone at home! | | | | them, pay attention to the similarities as well as |
| Some of the themes listed below are not | | | | the differences. Can you identify any |
| mutually exclusive. Mix it up, make it interesting in | | | | characteristics that unify the wines? What sets |
| any way that seems entertaining to you and your | | | | them apart? Ask these questions to your guests. |
| guests. You can even throw in some wine tasting | | | | If you draw people out to talk, discuss and argue, |
| party games to really turn up the excitement. | | | | your tasting will be more fun and educational. |
| Blind Wine Tastings: | | | | Wine Scoring Party: |
| A blind wine tasting is a fun way to get everyone | | | | Another fun way to get your guests all personally |
| involved and keep your guests guessing. In a blind | | | | involved is to ask everyone to score each wine. |
| tasting, the tasters are blinded to the wines. | | | | While most tasters find it easy to say if they like |
| Generally, the bottles are covered with a brown | | | | or don't like a wine, it requires much more |
| bag to hide their identity and then numbered with | | | | attention to the details of the wine to give it a |
| a marker. That way your guests are not biased | | | | specific score. There are different ways to do |
| based on the label, producer, price or anything | | | | this. One of the best is to supply your guests |
| else. You can share your unbiased thoughts and | | | | with a wine tasting score sheet which serves as a |
| impressions about the wines. You can have | | | | template to score wines. You can have sections |
| random wines or they can all have some theme, | | | | with room for notes on the wine name, color and |
| such as a vertical or horizontal tasting (see below). | | | | appearance, aroma, flavor and mouthfeel and |
| It can even be fun to incorporate a game such as | | | | overall impressions and conclusions. For the |
| scoring each wine to see which wine gets the | | | | standard 100 point score they can give up to 5, |
| most votes. Or you can award prizes for the | | | | 15, 20, and 10 points each for the color |
| person who guesses the the most wines | | | | appearance, aromas, flavors and overall |
| correctly (vintage, producer, region, grape | | | | impression/finish, respectively. The scores for |
| varieties, etc.). At the end you reveal the wine | | | | each are added and added to 50 to create the |
| and can discuss further once you know what the | | | | final score between 50 and 100. You can then |
| wines were. It is a good idea to reveal the wines | | | | compare scores across guests and figure out |
| while everyone still has a bit of each wine left to | | | | how the wines ranked. |
| taste so they can go back and reassess their | | | | Wine and Food Pairing Dinner Party Theme: |
| impressions after finding out what they were | | | | Traditionally, wine is not meant to be enjoyed |
| drinking. | | | | alone. Throughout history wine has accompanied |
| Vertical Wine Tasting: | | | | food and many people believe that alongside food |
| A vertical tasting is an assortment of the same | | | | is where you should enjoy and judge wine. While |
| wine, from the same producer and vineyard, | | | | tastings of wine alone is a lot of fun, a full dinner |
| across several vintages. It is a great way to begin | | | | can really make the food and wine shine, bringing |
| to understand both the style and specific | | | | out nuances of each that were missing before. If |
| characteristics of a producer or vineyard as well | | | | you or your friends love to cook, pairing wine |
| as the subtle differences that result from the | | | | with each dish or course is a great way to both |
| different growing conditions of different vintages. | | | | learn about the wines but also to learn about |
| While this can be difficult to arrange for someone | | | | what types of wines work with specific foods. |
| new to wine, who only has access to the newest | | | | You can serve several wines alone with a given |
| wines that are on the current market, if you | | | | course and vote on which paired the best with |
| have friends who collect wine and can help source | | | | the food. A fun way to do this is to choose a |
| the bottles this type of tasting can be very | | | | country or region and pair that area's cuisine with |
| educational. | | | | the wines produced there. For example, you can |
| Horizontal Wine Tasting: | | | | pair traditional Spanish cuisine with Spanish wines. |
| A horizontal wine tasting theme is much easier to | | | | The cuisine and wine of these old cultures grew |
| put together. It is a tasting of various wines from | | | | up alongside each other over centuries and |
| the same vintage. Ideally, wines from the same | | | | therefore they often create some of the most |
| region and general style are tasted from one | | | | profound food and wine pairings. There are so |
| vintage to compare the different producers and | | | | many other options, from the general (like French |
| vineyards. This helps to learn about the | | | | wine with French food) to the specific (like |
| characteristics of the vintage as well as the | | | | Provençal cuisine with Bandol wine or |
| differences between the various producers or | | | | Southwestern French cuisine with Bordeaux). If |
| vineyards the wines come from. This type of | | | | you are really enthusiastic you can even decorate |
| tasting is much easier to put together than a | | | | the room and table in the style of that region to |
| vertical tasting because the wines all come from | | | | get everyone in the mood. Get creative and |
| the same vintage. If you stick to a current | | | | make it fun! |
| vintage then you will have many options you can | | | | |