Think tastings are just for wine nerds? Give these ideas a go and you might be surprised.
The beauty of wine – or its downside, perhaps, depending on how you look at it – is there’s always something new to learn. At the very least, there’s always a new wine to try, even if you’ve been collecting the stuff for decades. While there are many ways to build your wine knowledge, the best plan of attack is to taste it. Better still, you can share a bottle with friends and then chat about it, even if it’s as simple as asking who liked it, who didn’t and why. We can feel a wine tasting coming on.
When you think of wine tastings, there’s a good chance you picture a serious bunch of people sniffing and swirling their fancy glasses, and you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. But wine tastings can also be as laidback and casual as you want. And when you add your mates to the equation, it really just becomes another good excuse to catch up over great wine and food.
Curious? We round up a few ideas below on how to host a wine tasting at home, including what you’ll need and how to go about it. And while you don’t have to be a total wine geek to do it, be warned that you might just become one in the process.
Glasses
No surprises, but you’re going to need wine glasses, and ideally more than one each if you’re trying several wines. We could point you towards our range, but not everyone has the budget or cupboard space to stock up. If that’s the case, get to know your good local BYOs. Book ahead and let them know you’ll need a few glasses per person and that you plan on staying a while.
Spittoons
Each taster should get a spittoon so there’s no pressure to drink each pour – about 60mL is a good rule of thumb. It can feel a bit weird to use a spittoon at first (we have a few tips that might help), but you definitely need to get the hang of it if you’re going to be tasting several wines. The wine world often uses ice buckets or those silver milkshake cups as spittoons, but recyclable cups work just as well. Glasses do too, but our hot tip is that opaque is best so you can’t see what’s going on in there.
Pen and paper
You can keep it lowkey and simply chat about the wines, or you might want to make a few notes. If so, a pen and paper for each person will do the job, but you could also print a sheet for everyone with a few prompters and space for thoughts. This might list colour, aroma, taste and overall impression, and, if you really want to geek out, a score for each wine.
Good food
Wine calls for food – many believe you can’t fully assess a wine without it – so you’ll need a great meal to go with your tasting. You can keep it easy and all chip in for takeaway, or perhaps get everyone to bring a dish, settle in at a BYO, or cook up a storm, if that’s your thing. Whichever way you go, food is essential, and it can even dictate the tasting, as you’ll see below.
BYO your favourite wine
Most people have a go-to wine – the one that ticks all their boxes – and these can make for a brilliant tasting. Ask a few people in the group to bring their favourite (no upgrading for appearance’s sake, either – the more bargains the better) and you’ll get an incredible mix. As you get to each sample, the person who brought the bottle can say why they like it (“I love it with pizza” is perfectly acceptable) and see where the chat goes. Even if you don’t find a new favourite wine, you’ll at least know which bottle to grab next time you catch up with these friends.
Pick a theme
Maybe you all love shiraz. Or you once went to the Hunter Valley together and want to relive the trip. Or maybe you’re all on the hunt for the best wine under $15. Whatever the case, there’s always a theme to create a related line-up of wines. If you stick with one grape variety, it can be interesting to compare a few from different regions. If you go with one region, different varieties can be enlightening side by side. Run with a price point and watch it get super competitive. Find an idea that gets everyone excited and let it evolve from there.
Make it about the food
Pairing wine with food – or food with wine – can make a great basis for a tasting. You could choose one cuisine, each bags a dish so everyone can plan around it, and then find the best wine to match. Soon enough, you’ll have a fully themed feast to get excited about. We vote for ordering in and tapping into wine-pairing ideas from your local bottle-o staff (you can even pretend you thought of it yourself, we won’t tell). Alternatively, you could each bring your signature dish (cheese and dips totally counts) and a matching wine for a truly eclectic night of drinks and food.
