If you and your friends enjoy exploring wine, then throwing a wine tastings party might be just what you and your friends need to spice up your social gatherings. A wine tasting party can be a great way to elevate your night while drinking wine. Throwing a wine tasting party is actually not that complicated, however, it does take a little more planning than your usual party. Before you start planning, you first need to decide what kind of wine tasting party you want to have. There are three basic types of wine tastings you can try at home no matter if you are a beginner or a wine expert. They can range from knowing the type of the wine and evaluating it, to trying to figure out what kind of wine you are drinking and guessing the wine’s region, type, tannin level, etc. These three basic types of wine tasting are horizontal, vertical, and blind wine tasting. They each are a fun and unique experience to enjoy wine and have a good time.
This article will guide you through a few wine-tasting party ideas that you can try the next time you host a party. After you have read it, and you feel prepared to start taking action, you can go through these wine club reviews and ratings and decide on your supplier.
Vertical wine tasting
With this type of wine tasting, you can compare a number of wines from a single estate or producer, in which all the wines are produced under the same name or label but come from different years. This way, you can observe the evolution of the wine over time and see how the wine behaves during the different vintages and how the different vintages were. Vertical tastings allow you to detect the effects of the growing conditions in the different vintages, changes in techniques in the winery, aging time in the barrels, and climatic differences between the different years. The wines for vertical wine tasting should be from multiple years or even decades. The greater the time difference, the better the results will be. The best way to start is with the wine with the oldest vintage and continue to the newer vintages. For this type of wine tasting, you need 3-5 bottles of wine from the same winery. You only need to pour 2 ounces of each wine to taste it.
Horizontal wine tasting
In contrast to vertical wine tasting, this type of tasting compares different wines with common characteristics like wines from the same year, region, style, appellation of origin, grape, or vintage. This allows you to see how each winery performs under the same conditions. Horizontal tastings are a great educational tool for beginners who are just getting into wine and want to broaden their scope and understanding of the different wine regions and the different grapes that are grown in those particular regions. For a horizontal wine tasting, you need a minimum of 3 bottles of wine, this gives everyone enough wine to sample. However, if you want your guests to enjoy their preferred wine with a meal you should probably grab a few more.
Blind wine tasting
If you want a more exciting experience, a blind wine tasting can be a great fun way to explore wine since you know absolutely nothing about the wine, neither the type of grape nor the appellation of origin or the vintage. Blind wine tasting relies on your set of skills to determine the varietal, region, vintage, and producer by only using your senses. All wine tastings involve sight, smell, and taste. You need to wrap each wine bottle or remove the label and then pour it to your guests. After they taste it, they can discuss each wine their appearance, aroma, and structure. Once everyone is done guessing, reveal the bottle and further the discussion. Blind wine tastings are a great way to judge wine only by its performance and ensure that the label or producer does not corrupt your judgment. The ideal number of wine bottles for a blind wine tasting is 6 three whites and three reds.
Summary
All of these three different wine tastings are not only for professionals or wine sommeliers with an experience in the world of wine. Anyone who enjoys wine can host and try them. All you will have to do is grab a few bottles and invite your friends. If you have no idea what to buy, you can order wine from a wine club and get a wine subscription box. Find a subscription service offering assorted wines in a basket. You can also add some snacks that would be the perfect accompaniment to the types of wine that you have chosen. This can be a great way to try some more unique bottles of wine, plus you get information about each wine bottle you receive so you share and educate your guests on the wine you serve. You can even make it a regular event if you subscribe to a monthly wine club. No matter which way you decide to go, we are sure you will have a great time.