A wine tasting party is exactly what it sounds like. It is an opportunity to get people together and try different wines. The goal is to broaden your horizons while also developing a definite taste regarding the good and not so good.
So, do you just invite some friends over and have at it? Well, that is one approach, but probably not the best. To have a successful wine tasting gathering, it helps to stick to the following guidelines.
When throwing a wine tasting party, what is the one thing you need? Well, wine of course, but you also need other people. Give this some thought. Try to pick people with the same level of wine experience, so nobody dominates the proceedings.
The next issue involves the number of people to invite. Six total people including you are the magic number. Why? This is about the number of people that can fit around a table, do tastings and chat. More than this and it becomes cumbersome.
The actual wine you taste is also something to give some thought to. Pick a theme. You might pick reds from a particular region or whites from a particular year. It does not really matter, but try to restrict it in some way so useful comparisons can be made.
Okay, on to more mundane matters. The host is not saddled with the burden in a wine tasting party. The tasters are each responsible for bringing a bottle from the selected niche and a sufficient number of glasses.
Keeping notes of your wine drinking escapades is smart move. You want to recall what made you smile and that made your eyes water. Nomad Wine Journals are about the best for note taking, but anything will do so long as you use it.
One area where hosts make a mistake is to put food out with the wine. The problem is the food interferes with the taste of the wine. No food should be served, not even cheese. Otherwise, the results of the tastings will be in accurate.
Finally, keep in mind you will need spit cups. Huh? When you do tastings, do not swallow. Spit out the sips until the tasting is over. Paper cups serve this purpose well. When done, you just toss them and then start drinking the bottles you liked.
Drinking wine with friends is fun, so do not stress too hard over the finer points of the wine tasting process. Just make sure to take notes so you remember the vintage you preferred the next morning!
Wine Tasting In Sonoma
There are some very important differences between wine tasting and wine drinking. Any average palate can consume wine and even enjoy it. Wine tasting goes beyond simply enjoying a tasty alcoholic beverage. It involves an appreciation for the wine, along with restraint. Wine tasting is also a love for companionship with others who also enjoy the art of wine. Wine tasting is a healthy and flavorful lifestyle, whereas drinking can be pointless and damaging.
Wine drinking is really no different than any other kind of drinking, whether beer or hard liquor. There is a lack of appreciation for the flavor of the wine, and too much concentration on its side effects. People drink wine to get drunk just like any other form of alcohol. Wine drinkers lack the sophisticated enjoyment of the subtle qualities which make fine wines truly special.
Wine tasting, on the other hand, involves a true love of each individual wine for its unique qualities. Tasters enjoy the wine which they drink, but on a higher level. A wine taster does not simply like the taste of what they drink. He or she can detect the flavors in the wine which blend to create such a lovely experience.
Wine tasters also practice restraint. One cannot appreciate the qualities of a wine if he or she is intoxicated. True lovers of wine will limit their tasting to small quantities of each wine. The less you drink, the more you can sample and broaden your palate. When a wine taster has reached his or her limit, he/she knows when to quit. One cannot savor the true enjoyment of a wine unless they are in the correct mind frame.
Wine tasting involves a lifestyle promoting good friendships nurtured over a glass of wine and conversation. Wine drinking, conversely, involves a potentially damaging lifestyle with late nights at a bar or in your home feeling unlike yourself. Wine tasters enjoy meeting new people and expanding their friendships along with their taste buds. Trips to vineyards, even just local ones, and regular wine tasting events are all part of the real wine tasting lifestyle. They bring wine tasters together from the community and help to forge lifetime friendships among people with similar interests.
Wine tasting is a world away from simple wine drinking. Even drinkers will have their favorites and may even be knowledgeable about different wines. The difference is not in what they enjoy, however, but rather in how they enjoy it. Wine tasting is a healthy, fun, and social hobby to enjoy. It's a better way to enjoy a tasty drink. Know what your tasting, and drink it sparingly with friends. Wine tasting is a wonderful way to enjoy your time over just plain drinking; your taste buds and liver will thank you.
Both Todd Gibson & Ian Love are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Todd Gibson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Fishing, French Vacation and Spa. Keep track of the vintages you have experienced with the of. Todd Gibson's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.
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