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Hello:Let me start by saying I'm a wine noobie and have just got started in the last 6 months or so.
Every tuesday night I have a small group of guys over and we drink whisky mostly with some rum here and there and one guy makes a home brew beer, and we drink this stuff and smoke cigars while listening to music in my basement. Since I have buying a small quantity of wine, (approximately 40 bottles so far)they have been eagle eying it and saying we need to open some and see what it tastes like. Then one guy said his wife said we better not do that unless the wives were invited to this special event. That event is just a few days away now, and everyone is bringing finger food. There will be 10 of us total.
I have wine from California, South America, South Africa, Australia, Italy, and Germany that I can name off the top of my head. The wines are all different types like the Chardonneys, Merlot, Cabernet, etc. Now my question. What does one do at one of these. I have never attended one or hosted one. Do we open like 6 bottles at once and have at it, or do we pick one and we all share one bottle til its done? I had thought about going around the world so to speak, like starting with a california wine, then going to south america, then south africa, then australia, etc etc. Or do you let each guest pick a bottle that interests them.
Any help you guys can shed here will be truly appreciated. If I'm going about this all wrong I sure would like to hear it, or if I'm doing alright I'd like to know. I was just trying not to be a dufus and have a plan so when guest show up we can get started. Also I should point out that where I live wine tasting parties are non existant. Our town is 800 population and our whole county is 1575 people, so fancy events are mostly unheard of.
Sincerely.....
Ron (Frazz)
Follow Ups:
Hey, buddy, don't sweat it! We've had 12 "annual" wine tasting events for friends and associates, and the key is: Make It Fun.Everyone brings a bottle in "a brown paper bag". The host (you) opens them inconspicuously and notes the bottle and the provider. Wines are divided into white, rose, and red.
We serve a lot of finger food, and have a great time pretending we're hoidy-toidy as we evaluate the wines and mark our score cards in a variety of bizarre and humorous categories. Winning wines get prizes!
I'm probably too late for tonights' party, but this will help for the next one.
1) Get yourself an aroma wheel...this will help people come up with descriptors of what you are smelling...I have seen a downloadable version, but can't seem to find it now. The real one was done by Dr. Anne Noble at U.C. Davis and can be found at her website. Also download some tasting sheets...they help organize your thoughts on color,aroma,taste,etc.
2) Try to limit your tasting to one thing. You could choose Syrah from several countries, or Syrah from the same country, or Syrah from the same Viticulture region (AVA in the US). Or even Syrahs from the same vineyard, but made by different winemakers. Every winemaker does things a little different...see if you can taste the difference.
3) Do some research on each wine...what was the growing season like for that vintage...what kind of barrels did the winemaker use (French,American,Hungarian), did they pick at a high degree of ripeness or pick early? Sometimes this stuff is hard to find, but it's worth a shot.
4) Get a good book to learn about the different regions, what are the characteristics of these places?
5) Have fun.
Steve
Sorry I'm late. No doubt the wine has breathed its last breath by now, and is ready to be tasted and spat out.Steve, you've got several great ideas for serious tastings. "Have fun" doesn't quite follow the others. More like "make small talk, mingle, and chortle".
Boring.
BTW, why is this forum set up so that old threads and messages are at the top?
I meant "new messages", not old messages. But, I'm new here, so maybe I just don't understand the listings yet.
Usually, 6 or 7 wines is the most the average person can taste and actually retain some real memory of it. If you kill a whole bottle of one wine, the rest won't be seriously considered, so give everyone a small pour, and then move on to the next wine...revisit after all have been tasted. You can try many different themes...by grape, by country...contrasting styles, brown bag (try to guess!). Start with what you expect to be the lightest and/or driest, and move toward fuller and/or sweeter.
Oh, and have fun!
Bernie
Thanks, as it has been moved up to tonight to have this thing. Man I'm really trying to get things ready. Sincerely, thank you very much.
Main thing is you don't have to drink a lot to have fun at these events. Remember a few glasses will put you over the limit and that could negate the fine evening you have had.
As stated work through just a few different varieties and keep it fairly simple. Finally how did it go?
Hope it all went well. Apart from making the tasting focussed, here are a few practical things.
1. Glasses - these can make a huge difference. If you are starting a wine club, then ISO tasting glasses are ok. Otherwise Riedel glasses are fantastic - you don't need the expensive ones, as the cheap ones have similar shaped bowls and are great value for money. One great trick is to have a tasting with Riedel glasses and your usual glasses. You will be stunned.
2. Budget for about 11-12 people per bottle. We normally do about 10 wines in an evening. At these amounts, you don't go away pi**ed by wine number 4.
3. Make sure you have some water, biscuits and cheese available to clean the palate in between wines.
4. If you're doing it right, don't go for cheap wines. We manage on a budget of 15 USD per tasting of 10 wines to do up to 10 wines up from 18 to 70 USD per bottle. Make it special!
5. Keep the tasting focussed - say Californian Pinot Noir, Loire Valley, Red Bordeaux emphasising 'left' v 'right' bank, burgundy, Piedmont or Tuscany in Italy, Argentina etc.I belong to a wine club in the UK that's been going for over 20 years. Once you get going, it's great fun; you will never get to know everything about wine - ever!!!!
good tips.but why would you serve cheese to cleanse the palate?
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