Planning a wine tasting party but don't have a clue as to where to start?
Here are some simple suggestions to help make your party a great success.
- Give your party a theme. For example, you could make it a night of Chilean wines or wines from the Mediterranean!
- Offer a selection of 6 wines. This provides enough variety to compare and contrast but not too many to become overwhelmed.
- Set a place for each guest. Each setting should consist of 6 wineglasses and a water goblet. (Wine Geek Note: It is very inexpensive to rent 6-ounce wineglasses and the rental company does the washing up!)
- Begin with the lightest bodied wine and increase the intensity with each glass. If you are serving a mixture of red and white wines, begin with white and move gradually to your most full bodied/robust red wine.
- Refer to each wine by a number. Begin with wine #1 and finish with wine #6. This helps to reduce confusion.
- Provide a simple tasting sheet for your guests to make notes on each wine. Organize each wine by number. For each wine, break it down further according to colour, nose (bouquet), palate (taste).
- Count on 1 bottle of wine for every 8-10 guests. Remember this is a tasting so each serving should be about one ounce.
- Find out an interesting tidbit about each wine and share it with your guests. (Wine Geek Note: many wine producers have websites!)
- Add a little dazzle and serve a variety of foods that match your selection of wines. (Wine Geek Note: You can never go wrong with the classic match of wine and cheese.)
- Enjoy!
If you need help or require further advice, please contact atyourservice@kensingtonwinemarket.com or call us at 403.283.8000 or toll-free at 888.283.9004.
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