So, you want to host a wine tasting? Make it fun! Wine tasting should not be a stuffy affair. After all, wine is first and foremost about fun. So even if you are trying to organize an educational tasting, you should still fun. One of the best ways to keep your guests interested and focused on wine while having fun is to plan a fun wine tasting theme. A cohesive theme to help keep focused and try to help to get the guests involved, pull them out to comment on and discuss the wines. After all, the discussion is what is actually the most fun and educational, not just wine tasting. If not, you can have wine tastings at home alone!
Some of the themes listed below are not mutually exclusive. The mixture, making it attractive in any way that seems entertaining to you and your guests. You can even throw in some wine tasting party game to actually show up excitement.
Blind Wine tastings:
A blind tasting is a fun way to get everyone involved and keep your guests guessing. In a blind tasting, blinded by the wine tasters. Generally, the bottle is covered with brown bags to hide their identity and then the number with a marker. That way your guests are not biased based on the price label manufacturer, or whatever. You can share your thoughts and impressions about the wine contains. You can have random or wine they all can have several themes, such as vertical or horizontal tasting (see below). It can even be fun to include games like scoring every wine grapes to see which gets the most votes. Or you can award prizes for the person who guesses the most correct wines (vintage, producer, region, grape varieties, etc.). In the end, you express the grape and can discuss further once you know what the wine. This is a good idea to reveal the wine while everyone still has a bit of wine every taste left so they can go back and reassess their impressions after knowing what they drink.
Vertical Wine Tasting:
A vertical tasting is the same grape variety, from the same producer and vineyard, in some vintages. This is a great way to begin to understand both the style and the specific characteristics of the producer or vineyard as well as subtle differences resulting from different growth conditions from different vintages. While this can be difficult to set a new one for wine, which only has access to the latest wine on the market today, if you have a friend who collects wine bottles and can help source flavors can be very educational.
Horizontal Wine Tasting:
A horizontal wine tasting theme is much easier to put together. This is a tasting various wines from the same vintage. Ideally, wine from the same general style and taste from one vintage to compare the different producers and vineyards. This helps to learn about the characteristics of the vintage as well as the differences between the various manufacturers or vineyards, grapes are coming from. This type of tasting is much easier to collect from a vertical tasting with wine, all from the same vintage. If you keep the current vintage then you will have the option that you can find on the market. Although it is generally best to stick to one region or style of wine, if you really want to challenge your guests you can incorporate some of the wines of the same vintage but from different regions, grape or country to help learn about, sometimes dramatic, differences between them.
Wine Region themes:
A good way to learn a lot about a particular wine region to sample the host where the theme is one of the wine producing region. Choose a wine produced in the area, from different vineyards and sub-regional producers in the area. When you and your guests through their tasting, note the similarities and differences. Can you identify the characteristics that unite the wine? What distinguishes them? Ask these questions to your guests. If you pull people out to talk, discuss and debate, you will be more pleasant tasting and education.
Wine Scoring Party:
Another fun way for your guests all the personalities involved are asking everyone to print each wine. While most tasters found it easy to tell whether they like or do not like wine, it requires more attention to the details of the wine to give a specific score. There are various ways to do this. One of the best is to provide your guests with a wine tasting score sheet that serves as a template for wine scores. You can have a section with space for notes on the color of the wine's name, and appearance, aroma, flavor and mouthfeel and overall impressions and conclusions. To score 100 points, their standards can provide up to 5, 15, 20, and 10 points respectively for the color / appearance, aroma, flavor and overall impression / finish, respectively. Value for each added and added to 50 to make the final score between 50 and 100. You can then compare scores across the room and find out how wine ratings.
Wine and Food Pairing Dinner Party Theme:
Traditionally, wine is not meant to be enjoyed alone. Throughout history have wine with food and many people believe that in addition to food is where you should enjoy and rate the wine. While wine tastings are great fun, full dinner can actually make the food and wine shine, bringing out every nuance is lost before. If you or your friends like to cook, pair wines with each dish or course is a great way to both learn about wine but also to learn about what types of jobs wines with certain foods. You can serve it with a few wine courses given and the sound is best paired with food. A fun way to do this is to choose a country or region and partner regional cuisine with wines produced there. For example, you can pair a traditional Spanish cuisine with Spanish wines. Cuisine and wines from the old culture grown alongside each other for centuries and therefore they often make several pairs food and wine of the most profound. There are so many other choices, from the public (such as French wines with French food) to the specific (such as Provençal cuisine with a Bandol wine or Southwestern cuisine with a French Bordeaux). If you are really keen you could even decorate the table with style and an area to get everyone in the mood. Get creative and make it fun!
Some of the themes listed below are not mutually exclusive. The mixture, making it attractive in any way that seems entertaining to you and your guests. You can even throw in some wine tasting party game to actually show up excitement.
Blind Wine tastings:
A blind tasting is a fun way to get everyone involved and keep your guests guessing. In a blind tasting, blinded by the wine tasters. Generally, the bottle is covered with brown bags to hide their identity and then the number with a marker. That way your guests are not biased based on the price label manufacturer, or whatever. You can share your thoughts and impressions about the wine contains. You can have random or wine they all can have several themes, such as vertical or horizontal tasting (see below). It can even be fun to include games like scoring every wine grapes to see which gets the most votes. Or you can award prizes for the person who guesses the most correct wines (vintage, producer, region, grape varieties, etc.). In the end, you express the grape and can discuss further once you know what the wine. This is a good idea to reveal the wine while everyone still has a bit of wine every taste left so they can go back and reassess their impressions after knowing what they drink.
Vertical Wine Tasting:
A vertical tasting is the same grape variety, from the same producer and vineyard, in some vintages. This is a great way to begin to understand both the style and the specific characteristics of the producer or vineyard as well as subtle differences resulting from different growth conditions from different vintages. While this can be difficult to set a new one for wine, which only has access to the latest wine on the market today, if you have a friend who collects wine bottles and can help source flavors can be very educational.
Horizontal Wine Tasting:
A horizontal wine tasting theme is much easier to put together. This is a tasting various wines from the same vintage. Ideally, wine from the same general style and taste from one vintage to compare the different producers and vineyards. This helps to learn about the characteristics of the vintage as well as the differences between the various manufacturers or vineyards, grapes are coming from. This type of tasting is much easier to collect from a vertical tasting with wine, all from the same vintage. If you keep the current vintage then you will have the option that you can find on the market. Although it is generally best to stick to one region or style of wine, if you really want to challenge your guests you can incorporate some of the wines of the same vintage but from different regions, grape or country to help learn about, sometimes dramatic, differences between them.
Wine Region themes:
A good way to learn a lot about a particular wine region to sample the host where the theme is one of the wine producing region. Choose a wine produced in the area, from different vineyards and sub-regional producers in the area. When you and your guests through their tasting, note the similarities and differences. Can you identify the characteristics that unite the wine? What distinguishes them? Ask these questions to your guests. If you pull people out to talk, discuss and debate, you will be more pleasant tasting and education.
Wine Scoring Party:
Another fun way for your guests all the personalities involved are asking everyone to print each wine. While most tasters found it easy to tell whether they like or do not like wine, it requires more attention to the details of the wine to give a specific score. There are various ways to do this. One of the best is to provide your guests with a wine tasting score sheet that serves as a template for wine scores. You can have a section with space for notes on the color of the wine's name, and appearance, aroma, flavor and mouthfeel and overall impressions and conclusions. To score 100 points, their standards can provide up to 5, 15, 20, and 10 points respectively for the color / appearance, aroma, flavor and overall impression / finish, respectively. Value for each added and added to 50 to make the final score between 50 and 100. You can then compare scores across the room and find out how wine ratings.
Wine and Food Pairing Dinner Party Theme:
Traditionally, wine is not meant to be enjoyed alone. Throughout history have wine with food and many people believe that in addition to food is where you should enjoy and rate the wine. While wine tastings are great fun, full dinner can actually make the food and wine shine, bringing out every nuance is lost before. If you or your friends like to cook, pair wines with each dish or course is a great way to both learn about wine but also to learn about what types of jobs wines with certain foods. You can serve it with a few wine courses given and the sound is best paired with food. A fun way to do this is to choose a country or region and partner regional cuisine with wines produced there. For example, you can pair a traditional Spanish cuisine with Spanish wines. Cuisine and wines from the old culture grown alongside each other for centuries and therefore they often make several pairs food and wine of the most profound. There are so many other choices, from the public (such as French wines with French food) to the specific (such as Provençal cuisine with a Bandol wine or Southwestern cuisine with a French Bordeaux). If you are really keen you could even decorate the table with style and an area to get everyone in the mood. Get creative and make it fun!
