Wine Tasting Party

A wine tasting party provides an excellent occasion for dabbling in a variety of wines and engaging in lively conversation.

No Keggers Allowed

Different than beer, different than spirit alcohol, wine inherently lends itself more to in-depth analysis, rumination, introspection, chit-chat, and general critiquing. Perhaps positive and perhaps negative, people just tend to sip it and then talk about a wine's character, composition, origins, the winery, and perhaps some juicy gossip tidbit about the winemaker. There are many reasons for this, but the fact that a wine varies from year to year, winery to winery, vineyard to vineyard, winemaker to winemaker distinguishes this beverage from beer and spirits. The King of Beers tastes the same no matter the year or brewery location and that's because beer is made according to a formula and brewed under controlled conditions. Wine faces more obstacles with countless vagaries of nature and influences by humans. Greatness in the bottle does not happen consistently and often occurs merely by serendipity. This gets us back to wine tasting parties — one of wine's more fulfilling dimensions is to share it with others and hopefully find some collective serendipity.

Planning a Wine Tasting Party

Besides good wine, the most important things needed are preparation, creativity, and a good guest list. If you are the one giving the wine tasting party, then you are responsible, if you are the guest, then hopefully the host or hostess has everything squared away and your only responsibility is to be a good guest and perhaps bring an intriguing wine.

In this case, let's assume you are the one hosting the wine tasting party. The first things to decide are the type of wine tasting party to hold and the guest list. It can be a formal or informal tasting soiree. Formal implies a more serious tone with higher wine expectations, a significant amount of spitting, and generally these tastings are best presented by a wine producer or a wine club. An informal tasting is probably more suitable for the home, where the point is to learn about wine and have some fun. As far as the guest list goes, it's more an art to create one than applying a magical formula to bring the right people together. Ideally, your closest friends appreciate wine as much as you, but don't hesitate to invite someone who doesn't care for wine; this may be a golden opportunity to bring the Margarita man over to the Shiraz side. I'd also advise inviting a generous wine lover with a substantial wine cellar.

Types of Tastings

There are several approaches to setting up a wine tasting party. You can go with reds only, whites only, or combination of the two. The following highlights the basic tasting types and some whimsical approaches thrown in for good fun.

• Vertical Tastings

A vertical tasting will compare a single winery's wine from different vintages. An example would be a Joseph Phelps Insignia from 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003. Tasting vertically would usually start from the youngest to the oldest, from the 2003 and working down to the 2000. The point is to learn about the differences in the vintages rather than the difference in wineries.

• Horizontal Tasting

Instead of going up or down, a horizontal tasting sticks with a single vintage and explores the success of different wineries with the vintage. There's more latitude with this approach. You set the rules if sticking to just a single varietal, a single region, or mixed bag. An example would be to taste various Oregon's Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs and judge the individual wineries on their achievements.

• Blind Tastings

This is a true test on the acuity of a wine taster's tongue and nose. It's also a good way to embarrass someone, especially the avid wine show-off who thinks they know everything about wine. Bottles are uncorked and wrapped in plain paper bags so people can not see the labels or any distinguishing bottle marks about the winery. A person judges and makes notes without any preconceived notion about the wine. The purpose is for individuals to try identifying unknown wines strictly by color, bouquet, and taste. You can go total blind and not tell anybody what is being drunk or you can create a list with each wine to be tasted and see who gets the most correct hits. If you invite a party of wine-drinking gamblers then the stakes just go higher.

• Global Varietal Tastings

Within the context of the vertical-horizontal-blind formats, try exploring different varietals and regions of the world. Put together a flight of Syrahs, a Hermitage from France's Northern Rhône Valley, a Syrah from California's Santa Ynez Valley, and then a big Shiraz from Australia's Barossa Valley. Or try Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand, France, South Africa, and California. Apply this same format to other varietals to get a sense of similarities and variances that occur between Old World and New World wines as grapes go globetrotting.

• Food and Wine Fest

A formal wine tasting normally eschews food with wine outside of nondescript crackers to help cleanse the palate. But what's a party without food. Try doing a Wine and Cheese party with whites and reds and try your hand at pairing cheese to wines. You can hook up French wines with French cheese, especially matching regional wines and cheeses, say a pungent Époisses with a red Burgundy. Alternatively, put together tapas with Spanish Wine and Sherry Wine, Italian anti-pasti with Italian Wine. Let your imagination roam.

• Creative Tastings

Remember, this is a party, so unleash your creative side. Plan a party around a theme, something like...A Night in Old Epernay, Stuck in Lodi Again, Zins of Dracula, Wines with Animal Labels, The Best Cat-Pee Sauvignon Blancs, Spin the Bottle, or Malbecs that Tango. I have a friend who is a member of a wine club called, Croakers Dinner. No, it's not a dinner for frogs. It's a club with twelve members who meet once a month at a rotating host's house. The host is responsible for dinner and every member brings a wine that they would want with their last meal before croaking. Granted, a bit dark on the whimsical side, but according to my friend, the wines are amazing. Ribbitt.

Other Considerations

While it's best to relax and go with the flow of wine at a party. Here are some dos and don'ts that I recommend.

• Invite like-minded people interested in wine.
• If guests are expected to bring wine, make sure they understand the parameters of the tasting and bring a bottle that they think is interesting. Specify a budget if appropriate.
• Follow basic rules with wine temperatures for reds slightly cooler than room temperature and whites chilled but not to glacial temperatures. Reds should be opened 15-20 minutes prior to serving and mature reds at least 30 minutes. Whites should be drunk before the reds, naturally.
• Use good stemware, but allot a single glass to each taster to save on washing. Glasses can be rinsed between tastings. It's obviously better to have a new glass for each wine, but somebody has to wash the glasses, don't they? Have water with lemon available for tasters to cleanse their palate. Use clean glasses without spots.
• Have pens and notepads available for notes.
• Use Wine Glass Charms for tasters to keep track of their glasses.
• In blind tastings, use numbers, making sure to number the bottles correctly.
• To spit or not to spit. That's the question. In reality, at a tasting party at home it's hard to enforce a spit policy. Keep spit cups or buckets available for those wanting them, but don't be surprised if they are dry at the end of the evening.
• At a minimum, serve unsalted crackers or bread for cleansing the palate, especially for those non-spitters. I'm more inclined to offer appetizers, cheese, or small bites to pair with wine that may bring out the best in both and reduce intoxication. I do recommend serving food after all the wines have been tasted once.
• Say a few words of introduction about each wine but don't, I repeat, don't lecture or pontificate about wine. Being a wine expert is like being a gunslinger in the Old West -- there's always someone a little bit quicker on the draw. And unless you are awarding diplomas at the end of the tasting, no one has the patience for a lecture.
• Calculate up to eight wines for sampling. Assume about a third to a half a bottle per person.
• Take pictures.
• Compare notes.
• Encourage discussion, but stress respect for each other's opinion. If it's a rowdy group, then you may want to appoint a bouncer.

Welcome to the party!

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