Wine Tastings Basics
Enhance Your Tasting Experience

When you walk into a wine tasting, you will see a lot of chattering people swirling their glasses and talking about vineyards or vintages or even about the weather. After you pay the fee (if there is one), they will hand you a glass, a pen, and a list of the wines available for tasting and where they are located. Now you are on your way. Question is, where do you start?

First, there is a method to the madness. When you are tasting a number of different wines, it is desirable to taste them a certain order. This is to prime your palate and avoid stronger wines from overpowering it. If you backtrack to lighter wines, they won’t taste the same because your taste buds will still be dominated by the heavier wine. This isn’t etched in stone but it will enhance your tasting experience. So the basic order is this:

• Champagne and sparkling wine
• Lighter and sweeter whites like sauvignon blancs, light chardonnays, and rieslings
• Heavier and full bodied whites like oaky chardonnays and pinot grigios
• Rosés
• Lighter reds like beaujolais, merlots, and pinot noirs
• Full bodied reds like cabernets, syrahs, and zinfandels
• Sweet dessert wines like ports, sherries, and madeiras

If you do nothing else, save the sweet dessert wines for last.

At large tastings, there will be several tables with a range of wines from whites to heavy reds. Each table usually represents a winery or distributor. Instead of moving from table to table and sampling all the wines from each table at time, sample the lighter wines from each table. Then return to the same tables to sample the heavier wines. Keep the tasting order.

For a refresher about how to taste wine, head over to the tasting wine page. Go ahead, I’ll have some wine while I wait.

When you see a wine you want to taste, simply walk up to the table and ask. Follow these tips and tidbits and you will enjoy it all the more:

• Make sure that your glass is empty from the previous pouring.
• If it is crowded, politely make your way up to the front or go to another less crowded table and come back later.
• If the wine pourer is busy with someone, wait a few seconds until she is available. Try not to butt in. In fact, listen to what she is saying. Sure, she is trying to sell the wine but you can pick up some useful info. Feel free to ask questions.
• As she pours it, she will probably explain some basics about what you are drinking.
• The pouring size will usually be about a half to one ounce. In fact, in some locales, it is illegal to pour more than that at one time. Sometimes, you will get more. Sometimes, you will get only one small sip. I get annoyed when they do that. Not only is it stingy, but it is not enough to truly sample the wine. The only acceptable exception to that is if the wine is very expensive and they want to conserve it.
• After she pours your wine, step away from the serving table to allow someone else to step up for their tasting. Don't hog the space in front of the table.

• If you do not wish to finish the wine, dump it into the dump bucket. It is OK to do so and no one will be offended.
• I figure there are two reasons to dump the wine. One is if I can’t stand the wine. This is rare. And as I already noted, one sip is NOT enough to judge a wine. So, at least try two or three sips to see if the wine changes for the better after it was poured.

  The second reason is to pace yourself. Believe it or not, in an afternoon of tasting, you can drink the equivalent of a bottle of wine from all those little one ounce pours. So be careful.

• Some say that spitting out the wine into the bucket is acceptable. Not me. Call me picky but it‘s not my cup of tea. The rationale is to avoid consuming too much alcohol. Fair enough, but if you do not want to swallow the wine, take a very small sip and swallow it anyway. Then dump the rest. Just pace yourself. No grossing out your fellow wine tasters.
• Don’t ask for a second tasting of the same wine immediately after the first. But, it is OK to come back later. They probably won’t remember if you were there before. And even if they do and object (which is quite unusual), just say that you may buy some and you want to be sure.
• On occasion, you may wish to cleanse your palate with some crackers, bread, or water. Drink some water at times to hydrate yourself.
• Have some food before and during the tasting to avoid drinking on an empty stomach.
• Try to give some priority to the high end wines that are being served. It’s a golden opportunity to taste $100 bottles without having to buy them. Furthermore, others will be doing the same thing and they may prematurely run out.
• On your sheet, note if you like it and take some notes. You can also develop a little rating system of your own. Or buy a wine journal.
• After a while, you may want to rinse your glass. There are different schools of thought on that. Some say don’t do it because the residual water in the glass (and there is always a dab of water left) will slightly dilute the next sample. Furthermore, a tiny bit of the previous wine may create a mini-blend which will have no effect on the taste of the next sample. The best time to rinse your glass is when transitioning to reds from whites or to the sweet dessert wines.
• Do not diss the wine in front of the pourer. However, if the wine may be tainted in some way, politely mention that the wine may be bad and see if she agrees. Bad bottles do happen.
• Avoid wearing perfumes, cologne, strong hairsprays, etc. Avoid smoking, breath mints, and strongly flavored foods. All this can affect how the wine smells and tastes. Not just for you but for others around you.
• Pay attention to your fellow tasters, you may learn something. Sometimes, you will hear someone rave about a wine you haven’t tried yet. Go over and try it. It can be a nice surprise for being in the right place at the right time. On the other hand…
• Some say that is its poor etiquette to offer an opinion of the wine before others have had a chance to taste it. People wish to form their own independent opinions. I agree that another’s opinion can definitely affect yours because it’s psychological. So-and-so likes it so you are subtly persuaded to like it also. Personally, I don’t mind hearing about a good wine from someone or suggesting that someone try a wine that I liked. Both of you may benefit. Just don’t offer any opinions as they are tasting it.

Sounds like a lot but don’t worry. There are no bouncers around to throw you out if you don’t get it right. Just go in and have fun.

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