Wine tastings can be a very fun way to get together with friends….

Have your nights in with friends fallen into the same old dull routine? Maybe that routine is stuck in the Sauvignon Blanc or Shiraz rut, when you busting to try something new. You can always spice things up by hosting your own style of wine tasting event. It is so easy that you will wonder why you have not done it before. Here are a few easy tips to start you off:

Pick a theme

Themes can make the night all the more interesting and, consequently, the wine choice easier. You might pick something easy like ‘It’s got to sparkle!.’  Or you could designate a particular region or country or a varietal or even a particular celebration.  Don’t limit yourself. If you are keen to try those new wines from Argentina or to rediscover Chardonnay. Then do it!  Wine tasting should be fun!

Perhaps you are getting married & want to choose wines for the wedding …. the list is endless.

What wines?

After good friends, wine is the next most important ingredient! At least 4 wines of different price points (unless you have chosen an under ‘$ you name your price’ theme) make the night interesting. I say four because there is always a risk that there will be a dud or maybe two. Or just something no one likes.

Don’t go just for the most expensive wines either. There is plenty of pleasure to be found in any price point as a general rule of thumb. I have often poured a AU $12 – 25 (£8 – £15) wine for someone who declares that they never drink anything that costs less than $30 or 40. Only to have them ask for more.

Why not make it an occasion by sending out invitations to your event? To make it even more fun, ask guests to bring something to suit the theme. That way, there will be plenty of surprises all round as you never know what may turn up.

How to serve them?

Unless you are addicted to washing up, you can get by with just one glass to taste with unless of course you have bubbles in the line up which may require a flute. Or at least a Riedel Champagne glass. It is better to have glasses that suit the wine. Many a delicate aroma can be lost in a glass too large or the wrong shape. (for more information on glassware, click here)

The secret is to have the wines lined up from the lighter to heavier wines. For example: have your Rieslings or Pinot Grigio first. Followed by Chardonnays, Sauvignon Blancs. Followed by Pinot Noir & Tempranillos, and finishing on Shiraz. The final wines should be dessert & fortifieds.  What’s so secret about this? Well, I recommend that you taste everything before you let anyone else near them – just to make sure, you know.

The reason that you serve them in order/ or write a number on them is to make sure that the wine tasted first do not overpower the wine tasted next. Just like you can lose the delicacy of a Riesling in a too large a glass or one with too large an opening, so too can you lose it if you have just tasted a big oaky Chardonnay or worse, a Shiraz! The Riesling will taste quite neutral & skinny.  That is compared to the reality of its delicate floral notes with minerally acid that you would recognise if it was tasted first.

Doing it blind!

Want to do it blind? A friend of mine uses flight socks (washed of course!). Alternatively, you can use brown paper bags from the liquor store. Or anything that will cover the labels & preferably up to the neck of the bottle. The whole point behind blind wine tastings is that your senses are not distracted by the label. That way you get more from the wine.  If you do this kind of thing often, you could go a step further & buy a black tasting glass to really challenge yourself.

At this point, it can get combatively competitive. One way to keep your wine tasting lighthearted is to ask your friends to place the wines from a list in order rather than asking them to get into an indepth discussion about what a wine might be. It is up to you. However, even I avoid the party trick kind of event where you have to pick the grape, vintage, price & vineyard.  Too much like my wine exams to be really fun!

Finally, there is plenty of information available about the wines that you have chosen on the night, so it is a nice touch to have something available just in case someone wants to read up.  You never know, you, or your stuck-in-a-rut friend, might just find a new favourite wine.

Here are some recommendations for your wine tasting!

Just in case you are still stuck for inspiration for your next wine tasting, here is an example just to kick you off:

Theme: ‘Bubbles anyone?’

Wines:

Choose from

– a range of sparkling wines from a specific range

– a selection of regional wines (Prosecco, Cava, Cremant de Loire, Champagne, Sparkling wine from Australia, Argentina, NZ, USA) including Demi-sec wines, or Extra Dry, and Zero dosage (Brut Nature) wines.

Or

Theme: ‘Surprising Reds’

Wines:

Choose from

– Loire red

– An Australian Malbec or Pinot Noir

– Sicilian Nero d’Avola

– Argentinian Bonarda

– Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

– USA red Rhone blend