From the Tasting Room - Wine Tasting Groups

Wine Tasting Groups

So many wines and so little time.

Wines taste different. From region to region, appellation to appellation, winery to winery, year to year, the same varietal can be amazingly unique and different. How can anyone ever begin to taste and enjoy the wines of the world? So many wines and so little time….

I have been a member of a small wine tasting group for nearly 30 years. We have tried different venues, but here is what works for us.

First of all be friends—no experts or arrogance or holier-than-thou attitudes. Expect to have fun but don’t get together too often. A tasting group that meets every two weeks can quickly become a burden and a duty. Once every six weeks or so seems about right. Limit the group to about 12 people.

Take turns hosting the event in your private homes. Rather than do a “potluck” or “BYOB” (Bring Your Own Bottle), the host chooses a theme, selects and buys the wines, and researches what the wines are all about. Unlike a BYOB party where Rieslings, Cabernets and Pinots are uncorked, tasting just one varietal allows everyone to experience what makes each wine unique. We sip the wines, savor them, discuss the pros and cons, and cajole one another with gentle barbs. Our tastings have their serious and educational side, but we also have fun and laughter. Wine is meant to be enjoyed, not endured as in some stodgy classroom.

Usually, our wine tasting precedes dinner. The host selects and prepares the main course, and delegates a different side dish to each couple. Perhaps the focus will be Cabernet and steak on the barbeque; others bring bread, appetizers, salad and dessert. Or it might be just Pinot Gris and appetizers, or dessert wines and sweet food.

Sometimes a single varietal is selected—Syrah from Australia, California, Oregon and Washington. Or it might be Pinot Noirs from the Willamette Valley from the 2003 vintage. How does New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc compare with California and Washington? How about a vertical tasting—the same wine from the same winery produced in different years? Are the Rieslings from Germany better than those of the Pacific Northwest?

We have delved into other areas also. A beer tasting was the hit at a summer picnic. Scotch whiskies from Scotland were fascinating. Blind tasting where bottles were kept covered challenged us to identify Merlots, Cabs and Syrahs simply by tasting and smelling. One night we did Weird Wines of the World: everyone brought a bottle of some unusual and obscure wine for tasting. That was the only night in our history when the dump bucket was filled—twice!

At the end of the evening we all share the cost of the wine and plan for the next gathering. We learn about wines each time but we always have fun doing it. There is method in our madness, but it only deepens our enthusiasm for this beverage that has been around since before Caesar even looked at Cleopatra!