Wine Enthusiasts

Hosting a wine tasting party is a great way to get family and friends together to learn about new wines and to just enjoy an evening together. Whether you are inviting wine enthusiasts or casual wine drinkers, here are some tips for throwing a successful wine tasting party.

Step one: Select the types of wine to serve

First, begin by choosing the type of wine tasting you would like to have at your party.  There are several types to choose from:

Vertical Wine Tasting: Tasting the same varietals of wines from the same maker and the same vineyard only changing the production year. This allows your guests to see how a wine changes from year to year.

Horizontal Wine Tasting: The horizontal tasting is choosing varietals of wine from the same year from different vineyards

Old World VS. New World: Here you compare grape varietals grown in the “Old World” (i.e. Europe — France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, Portugal) with the same varietals grown in the “New World” (i.e. North America, South America, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia).

“Priceless” Wine Tasting: For the “Priceless Tasting” you simply withhold the price of the various wines featured in your tasting.

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Price Point Wine Tasting: The “Price Point” tasting simply means selecting wines from a given price range.

The Big Eight: When it comes to wine, the “Big Eight” refers to the world’s eight most popular wine varieties broken into both “reds” and “whites”. This tasting will offer your guests a new appreciation and more education for what is offered. The Red Wines that make-up the Big Eight are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz. The Big Eight White Wines include: Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio.

Step two: Get your supplies ready

Here’s what you will need for your party:

Wine: Choose at least four to six different types of wine as a starting point. Each bottle of 750ml of wine will give you about eight to twelve samples of wine. Use that as a guide to determine how many bottles of each kind of wine to buy.

Appetizers: While you do need to provide foods that complement the wines provided, the food should not the backbone of the party. Focus on the hor d´oeuvres such as: cheese, fruit, unsalted crackers, bread or other munchies that will complement the wine being served

Wine Glasses: one per guest

Pitcher of water: For rinsing glasses between and palates between tasting

Dump Bucket: Discarding excess wine

Score Card: Put together a score card for your guests to keep track of what they thought of each wine

Step Three: Know How to Serve the Wine

Typically, when tasting wines, you will want to begin with white wines, working from dry to sweet. From there move to red wines, starting with light bodied and progress to full bodied. It is also recommended to start with younger wines and have the more mature wines at the end of the tasting.

It is also important to remember the ideal serving temperature to allow your guests to enjoy the full experience of the wine. Here’s a quick guideline:

White Sweet Wines: 37-43°F

White Dry Young Wines: 41-45°F

White Aged and Pink Wines: 48-54°F

Red Young Wines: 52-59°F

Port and Sherry: 54-63°F

Red Full-Bodied Wines: 58-63°F

Red Aged Wines: 59-65°F

Having a wine tasting party is always a good excuse to drink wine and enjoy the company of friends and family. Sit back an

Originally published here.

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