How to Host a Wine Tasting Party

A wine tasting party is great way to learn about, and celebrate, Minnesota grown wines.

Invite your friends to learn about Minnesota wines and wineries.

Taste and compare new or unusual varietals.

Pair specific wines and cheeses, do a vertical or horizontal tasting or a blind taste test.

Read on for tips to help you host a fun wine tasting get-together.

Some things you will need for your wine tasting:

The Home Winemaker's Companion: Secrets, Recipes, and Know-How for Making 115 Great-Tasting Wines

• Four to six different bottles/varieties of wine
• One wine glass per guest
• A pitchers of water and cubes of plain bread to cleanse palates between wines
• Light appetizers to enjoy before you gegin the wine tasting, or wedges of cheese if you are doing a wine and cheese party.
• A container to use for discarding wine between pourings
• Tasting cards to use for recording thoughts about each wine tasted
• Pens
• Wine bages, brown paper bags, or aluminum foil to cover the wine bottles if you want to do blind tasting.
  
  

Ideas for Your Wine Tasting Party

• Choose a theme for your party.You might do a "garden party" theme, Old World or Tuscan theme, vintage theme or whatever you and your guests would enjoy.
• If your guests are bringing the wine, you will need to have someone who will not be involved in the taste test to make sure there are no duplicates.
• A typical wine tasting will begin with dry wines to sweet white wines, then progress from light to full-bodied red wines. Also consider starting with younger wines, moving to more mature wines as the party progresses.
• Sample each wine assessing the wine’s unique color, aroma and flavors on a wine testing card.

Design a wine tasting card that specifies the type of wine, the producing vineyard, the year and a brief description of the wine (usually found on the wine’s label). Make sure that each guest has their own tasting card to record the wine's distinct appearance, aroma, flavor, and cheese pairing nuances.

Minnesota Wine Tasting Clubs

Minneapolis Wine Club

Related Pages:

• Minnesota Recipes
• Minnesota State Symbol Recipes
• Making Maple Syrup

Back to Minnesota Wineries