Wine Tasting Parties Are Becoming Popular

Host a Tasting
A wine tasting party, in addition to being great fun, is a great way for you and your friends to learn about the incredibly varied world of wine.
Must have:

1. Glasses – one per person is sufficient so long as you provide water to rinse glasses out in between wines.

2. Paper bags – we highly recommend enclosing the wine in a brown paper bag, or obscuring the label in some other way to create a blind tasting. Blind tastings increase your focus on the wine, and remove any and all preconceptions about a given bottle. (If you’re afraid of cheaters, remove the foils and hide the corks.)

3. Food – mild cheeses (stronger is ok for fuller bodied reds, or sweet wines), crackers, good bread and fruit are all great additions to a tasting, and fruit and dessert are a great way to end a tasting with a nice cup of coffee.

4. Pencils and paper – by writing down your impressions of each wine you promote greater focus and patience in examining a wine’s merits as well as its faults.

5. Water – it is always nice to have water (not too cold) available, in addition to food, for people to cleanse their palates.

6. Spit buckets – for tasters who do not wish to swallow, and to dispose of excess wine before moving on to the next.

7. White – whether it’s a tablecloth, napkins, or white paper, having something white is essential to act as a background for observing a wine’s color.