Wine Tasting 101 is Brought to You By the and and These Great Products Clos Du Bois William Hill Winery Atlas Peak Vineyards Wine Tasting 101 [ Home ] Chapter 1: [ Introduction to WineTasting ] Chapter 2: [ Opening & Decanting Wines ] Chapter 3: [ The Language of Wine ] a.]--The White Wines-- b.]--The Red Wines-- c.]--Champagne, Sparkling Wines & Port-- Chapter 4: [Hosting Your Own Tasting] a.]--Tasting Sheets-- Chapter 5: [ What Have We Learned? ] --Search Our Database of the entire  Kreston Wine & Spirits www.KrestonWines.com Website--

    There is no more a social beverage on the face of the Earth than Wine.  And a wine tasting party in your home is an easy way to make any gathering into a dynamic and memorable event.  All the information you need is contained in these pages. 

    For your first tasting, four to six people and four to six wines is about right.  We've offered some suggestions on each of the "Red," "White," and "Champagne & Port" pages preceding.  Limit yourself to four wines from a single page or two wines from two or three different pages in order to get the most out of comparing similar wines. 

    Below are more tips for a successful evening of tasting.  And remember, Kreston's experienced Wine Staff are here to assist you in any way to make your event a success.  We LOVE organizing wine events, as our 21 Kreston's sponsored wine events in 2002 alone attests.  Take advantage of this expertise in your selection of wines.  We can construct a tasting within most any budget you prescribe.  And we'd be most happy and gratified to perform this service for you.

    And now for some tips to keep you on the right track and to make your event easy to plan and execute and to make it enjoyable for your guests and, ultimately, for YOU!

GET ORGANIZED:
--Choose your wines following the guidelines above.

--Decide where you will hold the tasting.

--Make your guest list.  When you call, let the invitees know the event will be a wine tasting.

CHECK AND DOUBLE CHECK:
--Chill white wines in the refrigerator for at least one hour before opening them.  They should be cold, but NOT freezing, to the touch.

--Make sure you have enough glasses for each person to have a new glass for each wine--four glasses per person if you are tasting four wines.  If you do not have enough, you may rinse the glasses with water or a splash of the next wine between flights.

--Run glasses through the dishwasher WITHOUT soap, or rinse and dry them thoroughly prior to the tasting.  Soap residue can seriously affect your tasting.

--Provide appropriate receptacles for spitting or dumping wine.  Ice buckets or opaque cups work well.

--Have fresh, cold water available for drinking and refreshing the palate.

--Have good, crusty bread and, if desired, mild cheese available to refresh the palate between flights of wine.

TASTE:
--Supply each guest with a copy of the appropriate instruction pages from Kreston's Wine Tasting 101 relating to the wines you will be examining along with pages on methodology, glossary terms and, most importantly, tasting sheets.

--Introduce each wine before your guests taste, and proceed slowly.  You can find information about the particular producers by using www.Google.com on the web and searching for producers' websites or, if you utilize sponsoring wines in this web presentation, by using the hyperlinks provided.

--Pour about 2 ounces, no more than one-third glass, for each taster.

--Run through the proper tasting technique as learned in
this instruction.  Remember:  Appearance, Bouquet, Taste
and Aftertaste.

--Taste wines from the lightest to fullest in body using the charts below.

--Encourage guests to write down and then discuss their opinions about each wine.  Remember, you can get started using the common aroma and flavor descriptors provided in these pages.

--HAVE FUN!!  There are no right or wrong answers or perceptions.  Just how each person feels about the particular wines.

Food Pairing:
    The art of pairing wine and food is actually much simpler than many people imagine.  The rule of thumb to keep in mind is: The weight of the wine should be the same as the weight of the dish.  It's OK if the wine is slightly heavier.  But if the wine is lighter than the dish it can be easily overwhelmed by the food and seem thin.  Use your own tasting notes to recall the body of the wine you wish to pair, or consult this chart of helpful generalities.

             Next:  [The Tasting Sheets] you'll need for your event.

 The 4 Constants in Analyzing Any Wine:  Appearance - Bouquet - Taste - Aftertaste
                                                                                                                                                        Look at it          -         Smell it     -      Taste it     -     Think About it!