Hosting a Wine Tasting Party

Having your own wine tasting party can be a huge amount of fun and they are easy to set up. All you need are some good friends, a selection of wines, lots of glasses, some appetizers to nibble on and something for everyone to write on. A wine bar is a great item to have handy.

Try to keep your wines in the same range as far as type (red, white, chardonnay...) and offer 5 or so wines to taste, this is so you are comparing like against like wines.

You won't need one bottle person, remember you're tasting wines here and yes, a fair amount of wine will be consumed, it certainly won't be copious quantities. If you have 10 people coming, 8 bottles of wines (2 per type) should be more than enough.

The bottles should be covered so only the necks are within view, this way it is truly a blind test. Mark each bottle with a number or letter so it can be referenced in the wine tasting notes. Serve the wines at a consistent temperature to make the tasting fair.

Have water and crackers available to clear the palate. You will be either be pouring the wines into separate glasses or taste the wines in order by letting everyone reuse their glass. There is no wrong way to do this.

Let everyone keep notes and give people some pointers to keep notes on such as the color of the wine, how it looks in the glass. Next is taste - reading the descriptions can be a fun time all on its own. Forget professional terms, you're here to have fun. If the wine tastes like a dead cat - say so. Texture of the wine is another item to write down. Is it full bodies or thin and watery?

Having a wine tasting is a fun way to gather up your friends and who knows? You might just start a tradition.
 posted by Allure Furniture Designs