Wine Tastings

Originally published in LifeStyle Magazine, March 2005

Wine tastings are a fabulous way to learn more about wine and enjoy friends at the same time. Tasting wine can be a simple matter for the uninitiated while quite complex for the expert, but either way, getting to know more about a wine than you already know is one of life’s great pleasures.

Turning a tasting into a small (or large) social event usually adds to the fun. There are several things to consider when planning a wine tasting that can greatly lend to its success. Some are more or less required while others are fine points you can use in case some head of state happens by.

Definitely establish a theme for your tasting. Themes keep the tasting logical and relevant so that anyone attending might actually use the information they learn to later purchase wines. And when they do, isn’t it nice that they’ll associate buying and drinking something they enjoy with that tasting they had at your home? Typical themes include “verticals” and “horizontals”. A vertical tasting is done by selecting a single wine produced in different years, or vintages. For example, you might offer six Cristom pinot noirs, one each from 1997 through 2002. (The years need not be consecutive.) Such a tasting will reveal both the effect of aging on the wine and perhaps some insight into what years yielded generally better wine.

A horizontal is the opposite idea. Choose a single year and present many wines from that year. Typically, it is best to choose one particular grape, or varietal, from various producers. This truly compares one winemaker’s ability versus another since the effects of aging is eliminated.

Now forget vintages all together. Select one varietal from many producers in various years and you have a more general tasting. To be fair, don’t make the vintage range too broad because wines that need time to mature and are indeed given that time will naturally outshine their younger counterparts… unless of course it is your intention to demonstrate the advantages of aging certain wines. Wines that inevitably improve with age include merlot, red zinfandel, syrah/shiraz and the granddaddy of maturation, cabernet sauvignon.

Themes can also be designed to compare one varietal to another. This is a great way to help your guests learn to recognize their cabernet from their merlot. Or compare regions… do zinfandels from Napa differ from those made in Sonoma? The two areas are in fact adjacent but experience quite different weather conditions that greatly effect what ends up in your glass. One of my favorite tastings has always been a California cabernet sauvignon versus French Bordeaux comparo. Bordeaux wines are predominantly cabernet sauvignon, merlot, or both. Comparing these theoretically similar wines always educates, as the differences between the two can be stunning.

Serve, or have your guests pour for themselves, about 1-2 ounces of wine per sampling. This is enough to experience what the wine has to offer and allows for comparing many wines. Be sure to include food! Getting drunk is useless, tasteless and more importantly, dangerous. Offer either an entire dinner or simply a selection of plain breads and crackers along with various cheeses. Either way, spread the courses out over the entire tasting and be sure there is enough. Include a lot of water, both to cleanse your palate and to occasionally swish out glasses.

Use at least two glasses per person so that your guests can literally compare two wines against each other. Three or four glasses are a welcome bonus (except when it comes time to clean up). It may seem a little strange, but if your guests are new to wine tasting, find a diplomatic way of telling them beforehand not to wear any perfume or cologne, since strong smelling ones will distract from the ability to taste. (Smelling is actually a key to tasting.) Likewise, avoid decorating with flowers or other highly scented items like lighter fluid or rotten fruit. (You get the idea.)

Here’s a test of your diplomacy. Let your guests know that it is to their advantage not to brush their teeth immediately before tasting wine. Toothpaste kills wine. If this conflicts with the previously described “rotten fruit” advice, you have a decision to make. Use a white tablecloth to provide the best background for looking at the wine. Don’t serve food that will freeze or scorch any tongues… another undesirable burden for keen tasting. And don’t forget the spittoon. Actually, any large container placed on the table will do. It’s not necessarily for spitting in, but simply to empty disliked wine into, making room for the next sample. And please, make sure this container is both tall and opaque! Nobody wants to see the plonky blend accumulated inside.

The specific skills regarding how to actually best taste wine and appreciate all its nuances is a lengthy subject worthy of its own column. Meanwhile, pick your theme, plan your tasting and invite your friends!