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Having Your Own Wine Tasting Party
from: Maxx Guide to WineIf you're a wine lover and you have several friends who are also into wine, getting together for a casual wine tasting party is a great activity that could help you discover some new wines while testing each other's palates. Blind tastings would be a great way to test everyone's skills, or just get together to try out the diverse range of wines you and your friends most enjoy.
Formal wine tastings often don't allow swallowing the wine, since the main purpose is to appreciate the taste and aroma and overall experience of wine. At a casual tasting party you can, of course, allow guests to drink the wine, but you must be aware of the dangers if too many people drink too much wine as the evening progresses. Also, you and your guests may not get to fully appreciate the full flavor and effect of the wine if too many different wines are swallowed in a short period of a few hours.
Regardless, you should have clean glasses for each person participating and for each bottle, along with a clean white tablecloth. The white tablecloth allows a good view of the wines and also allows everyone to see the wine's body and any sediment in the glass from an aged wine. Candlelight will also enhance your ability to clearly observe the wine plus any sediment in the bottle or decanter. Having clean glasses available is very important since leftover residue in a glass causes your wine to have an impure taste.
If you're hosting the wine tasting, you may want to have your guests bring their favorite bottle of wine, plus their own glasses. You should have lots of crackers or bread avaialbe for cleansing the palate along with room temperature water since cold water shocks taste buds.
If possible, decant the red wines. If you can't decant them all together, pour a small amount into each glass so they can breathe a bit. The more the wines has contact with the air, the better they'll taste. Don't forget, white and blush wine are best served slightly chilled.
When tasting wines, it's nice to provide paper and pencils for your guests to take notes while ranking the wines. Get started with lighter and simpler wines before moving to drier and heavier wines. You won't be able to taste the white wines as well if you start by drinking heavier and dry wines first. If glasses need to be reused, swirl water around in them first and then dry with a clean cloth so water doesn't dilute the wine.
Wine tasting can start by observing the wine for clarity and color. You judge the wine by its color, aroma and taste. Hold your wine glass up to a light and make note of the color. Then tip the glass slightly and gently swirl. The wine will flow around the glass and if it clings and dribbles down the side in "legs" or stripes, it's a medium bodied wine. If it forms a sheet, it's a full-bodied wine.
Next, tip your glass and swirl the wine around while holding it a bit away from your nose to help increase the amount of scent for your nose to smell. Inhale the aroma deeply and then move it away, which will keep you from being overwhelmed by the aroma.
The final step is tasting. Have a small sip and push it up in front of your mouth and then inhale through your teeth. Slosh the wine around in your mouth while covering your tongue. You'll want to taste the predominant tastes at first and then the secondary tastes. Determine if the wine's taste is complex. Does it have a wood-taste?
Between wines, you should rinse your mouth and have an unsalted cracker or some bread to clear the taste from the previous wines. When doing blind tasting, you can place the bottles in brown bags or remove the labels altogether.
Having your own wine tasting party doesn't need to be formal, in fact, a casual affair makes for a lot of fun. If you want to have an easy time setting up, consider a wine tasting kit that supplys all the needed bags, tags and other wine accesories you'll need.
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