How to Host a Wine Tasting Party in 5 Steps

Would you like to know how to host a wine tasting party? It can be a lot of fun. You can get your family and friends over to experiment with different varietals. It can be a great learning experience for everyone.

Once you host a wine tasting party, you may enjoy it so much that you may decide to do it again. Of course, there will be some careful planning involved. There are different kinds of wine tasting; these include vertical, horizontal and wine and cheese pairings. Let’s take a look at how to host a wine tasting party.

1. Guest List

Obviously, the first thing is to invite people, so make sure you come up with a guest list. You could do this a couple of weeks before your big event. At the same time, you do not want to invite too many people. It helps if it is a bit of an intimate setting. This helps to encourage good conversation. Try to aim for no more than 10 guests, otherwise you could run into other issues. You want to make sure everyone has a sip for it to work.

2. Supplies

Make sure to have all the proper or necessary supplies available for your event. For example, while having one glass per person is OK, it is recommended to have two. This not only allows for better taste, it helps to compare wines simultaneously. Have palate cleansers available. Bread or water crackers can serve this purpose.

If you are really serious about the wine tasting party, have a spit bucket. Don’t laugh; it helps! Make sure to have pads or paper and pens. This helps with taking notes. Also, make sure you have a white background and clear glassware. There should be proper lighting. Do not use tinted glassware. When comparing wines, colour is one of the most important aspects.

3. Tasting Cards

You can design tasting cards to make things simpler for everyone. The card should specify information such as the producing vineyard, the type of wine, a description of the wine and the year. Every one of your guests should have one of these cards. They can then record important information like the aroma, flavour, its appearance and any other pertinent information.

4. Setting The Table

While it is tempting to decorate the place for your event (and by all means, do so), keep in mind that scents and perfumes are not a good idea. In fact, as rude as it sounds (though people may understand), politely ask that nobody wear any perfumes or scents. This could cloud the judgment of the wine’s aroma. This also means you should not decorate the place with scented candles. Do not brighten up the place with strong-smelling flowers.

5. Serving Correctly

Try to line up the wines in a certain order. Try to make sure the temperatures are right as well. After all, this is almost like a science! Place them so that bubbles is first, followed by light whites and then rich whites. Then, place roses, light reds and then bold red wines with the last being dessert wines. Many red wines taste the best when they are at certain temperatures. For example, bubbles are best at 40 to 45 degrees, whites should be between 40 and 50 degrees and reds should be between 55 and 65 degrees.

These are just simple tips on how to host a wine tasting party. For blind tasting, you can use aluminum foil or brown bags to cover the wine bottles. Vertical tasting involves the same wine but of different vintages from the same winery. In horizontal tasting, it is all from the same vintage but from different wineries. And there we were thinking you could either taste the wine horizontally, or, if you have had a bit too much, you could taste it vertically!

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