Ever thought about conducting your own wine tasting at home?
We know that wine tasting events are a popular choice for wine enthusiasts. There’s something exciting about being introduced to new wine through an in-depth tasting experience. However, the past year has thrown a few spanners in the works with a lot of plans being cancelled and friendly gatherings being a distant memory for most of us. But it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. Just because you can’t go out for a tasting session, it doesn’t mean you can’t conduct your own wine tasting at home. You never know, it might be more fun organising it yourself.
Wine tastings aren’t just about drinking wine. It’s about really considering the different aromas of the wine and the flavours that are present at every stage of drinking. Here are a few steps to take to help you have your own fun wine tasting experience in the comfort of your own home.
Understand what can influence your taste
We may not be aware of it, but a lot of factors can affect how things taste to us. Both our bodies and our environment can affect our tasting experience, and there are a few things you should keep in mind when doing your wine tasting at home:
How do you feel?
If you are not feeling 100% healthy this can change how your body perceives tastes. If you are tired, in a bad mood, not feeling relaxed or stuck thinking about work, this may affect your tasting performance.
Where are you doing the tasting?
The room you do your tasting in is extremely important. You’ll want to choose a room that is well-lit and free of smells as this can affect how the wine tastes to you.
Is your palette clean?
Before you do the tasting you should be aware of foods and drinks that you are consuming that may alter the taste of the wine on your palette. Things to avoid include coffee, spicy foods, strong foods like cheese and things containing onion or garlic.
Make sure you have the right equipment
Once you’ve considered what will affect your palette, you should check you have the right equipment. Making sure you have the best tools for the job will help ensure that you have the best experience tasting your wines.
What is the best glass to use?
There are different glass shapes that are more suited to each type of wine (red, white, sparkling etc.). If you want to try a variety of types, you can follow the International Standards Organization guide to the best glass shape for most wines. They describe it as an elongated egg shape with a narrower rim, supported by a stem that is resting on a base. Having a glass with a narrower opening concentrates the aromas, ready for tasting.
Do I need a spittoon?
Sometimes called a spit bucket, a spittoon is a container which is used to spit wine into once it has been swished around the mouth. This may sound silly but there is a reason for this. Predominantly it is to reduce alcohol consumption. This is to stop you from getting tipsy, which will affect your tasting experience of the remaining wines. To allow you to appreciate the flavours of each and every wine included in your tasting, you should consider getting a spittoon for you ‘Wine Tasting at Home’ session.
Should I use bottle sleeves?
For a truly exciting experience, we would suggest using bottle sleeves to cover up the labels. This means that you get to taste the wine blind, getting you to really concentrate on the flavours of what you might be drinking.
One Last Thing…
Once you have all of your equipment, the last thing you’ll need is tasting cards. Luckily, we have some that we prepared earlier! Our tasting cards can be printed out and used to place your wine glasses on to. Below the wine, you can give a score for appearance, aroma, taste and aftertaste.
Download Your Tasting Cards
Don’t forget that with the magic of technology you could even host a virtual wine tasting experience with your friends and family. Just make sure you all buy the same wine and download our ‘Wine Tasting at Home’ scorecards and you’ll have everything you need for a fun evening.
If you’re on the lookout for wine to try during your tasting experience, we have a range of selection cases that provide the perfect amount of variety. They include red wines, white wines and rosés. Why not check out our Mixed Case or our Lockdown Case?
