How To Have a Wine Tasting Party

Denny Zeitlin: Chateau Latour Wine Tasting

What a great idea for a relaxed 'get together with friends' party theme. Winetasting can be as complicated as a five course dinner or just an evening of sharing good wines with good friends.

"Winetasting should be a delightful experience", says Rossana Magnotta, spokesperson for the award-winning vintner, Magnotta Winery "It should involve everyone and the atmosphere is half the enjoyment."

Why not try hosting a winetasting party for your next get together?

You can try a sample of the same wine from different vintage years or shop around for a wine that has been produced in several countries. Choose one wine type and select one bottle from the USA, another from South America, one Australian and a traditional European label to see which one you like best.

Blind tasting, where there are no labels to give away the secrets of the wines ahead of time, can also be fun.

Winetasting is not as difficult as some experts would like us to believe, following these five simple steps will open a new world of wine enjoyment for any enthusiast.

1. Observe: Hold the wine glass by its base or stem at a 45 degree angle so as to keep from heating or leaving fingerprints on the bowl. Hold the glass to a white sheet of paper or tablecloth and assess the wine's clarity, color, hue and intensity. The wine should be clear and pleasing to the eye.

2. Smell: Bring the glass to within an inch of the end of your nose and inhale (nose) once and deeply (more than one deep inhalation will provide little in the way of additional aromatic perspective). The aroma should be pleasant and inviting.

3. Swirl & Smell: Swirl the sample in your glass to the best of your ability and before it stops swirling completely—taking a single second inhalation just as the first. The aroma should be pleasant and inviting—only more intense than before. Swirling introduces oxygen into the wine by increasing the surface area of wine exposed to it.

4. Taste (mouthfeel): Take a small sip and hold the wine in the mouth while introducing air—don't be afraid to make rude noises! Keep the wine in your mouth and run it over all parts of your tongue so as to get all of your taste buds 'in on the act'. You should feel tempted to take a second sip.

5. Assess: Spit out the sample and make your assessment as to flavor profile, mouthfeel and length. The wine should linger on the palate in a pleasant manner after having been spat. A pleasant aftertaste should remain. The final conclusion yours to draw.

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Source... News Canada
Magnotta Winery (www.magnotta.com) has seven locations across Ontario with each retail store offering more than 150 wine varieties and a complimentary wine tasting bar.

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More about wine tasting parties around the Web:

Host a Wine Tasting Party

How To Throw a Wine Tasting Party

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Also see in Wine -> Wine Tastings & Party Ideas

Beer Tasting Party Ideas & Score Sheet