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Learning to taste wine
As friends and family gather around this time of year, it is the perfect time for a wine tasting. Chances are there will be many bottles on hand and what if instead of opening one after the other, you open them all and taste them side by side? There is no better way to understand and appreciate differences in wine than by tasting them alongside each other.
Often, if you open a bottle on a Friday, chances are good that you might have forgotten what it tastes like when you open the next bottle on Saturday or a few days later. But what if you had multiple bottles open and were able to taste them together and experience how they evolve once opened. And most importantly, to see how they react to the different foods you will eat while the wines are open.
To be clear, this is by no means encouragement to consume more alcohol. It is important to be judicious in your tasting and that you do more tasting than drinking. And by that I mean spitting. There is no viable way to consume the volumes of wine required to learn all there is to learn. Wine professionals spit.
What I have been doing for a few years now is bringing a wine tasting experience directly to people’s homes. It is an immersive experience to help interested folks understand a specific region or grape variety in the comfort of their own home without having to drive. And without pretence, which wine tasting can often be full of.
Typically the party is from out of town looking to learn more about the wines of the County. Guests are guided through teachings on how to taste wines like a professional sommelier, how to understand their personal likes, and more importantly, personal dislikes. And of course learning the jargon of wine to instill confidence when tasked with choosing a bottle.
I serve the wines blind and without fail, guests are always surprised when the wines are revealed, as they often think they dislike a certain grape or style and very often turns out that a wine they thought they didn’t like is their favourite of the flight!
Maybe you have thought about how best to learn more about wine and want to do so in 2024. Gathering with friends and lining up a few bottles to taste and discuss is always a good time—go ahead and give it a try this holiday season. And, if you are interested in increasing your wine knowledge in a fun, inclusive and engaging way, feel free to reach out to me to learn more.
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