Tasting Clubs

Wine tastings can be a fun and educational experience, but it does require some planning in order to achieve the best results. There are several methods that a person could use to enjoy wine tasting, and they include:

• Membership in wine tasting clubs or groups
• Wine tastings at restaurants, vineyards and wine shops
• Attending or arranging a wine tasting in their home or for a special event

One of the easiest ways to learn about wine, and to enjoy wine tastings, is to find a local group that regularly schedules or plans such events. Quite often wine tasting clubs will have meetings or get togethers in one of the member’s homes, and this is where some of the wine tasting activities may occur. It is just as likely, however, that the wine tastings will take place in a specialty wine shop or restaurant as well.

Before joining any wine tasting groups it is important to consider a few factors:

• Are there any dues or fees? This should generally be avoided, unless it is a formal course offered by a community college or adult education program.
• How far is the commute? Some people, especially wine tasting novices, are unaware of the affect wine may have upon them, and it is not wise to have a long drive if a few glasses of wine will be consumed.
• What activities or discussions will take place? If learning about wine, and taking wine tours are not part of the ongoing activities of the club or group, it may be a good idea to be sure that a social event is what is desired instead of an educational experience.

Alternately, if there are no wine tasting clubs in the area, there are sure to be plenty of places staging wine tasting events. Visit local wine or gourmet food shops and enquire about such things. Quite often wine shops or sellers have a regular roster of such activities. Also, do a brief search for wineries and vineyards in the area and phone around for their scheduled tastings; many make weekly tastings available. Some vineyards will charge small fees for attending their tastings because they frequently include “flights” where four or more wines are made available to the guests for sampling and comparing. Such occasions usually involve food service as well, and such activities are extremely enjoyable and remarkably educational. In fact, some vineyards will provide tours of their winemaking facilities prior to a tasting and this gives a good picture of the complexity of the entire process.

Finally, the popularity of wine tasting and collecting as a hobby has allowed for a great deal of attention to be placed on “at home” wine tasting parties. These events will require a bit of planning, but can be achieved quite easily by even a novice party planner.

The general rule of thumb for such events will require attendees to have an interest in wine, and some knowledge of formal wine tasting techniques. If a group is not familiar with the process, the party can still be labeled as a “wine tasting” event, but it will be more along the lines of a cocktail party. Either way it is a great idea to provide all of those in attendance with “wine cards” that let them make notes on each of the vintages sampled, and make sure there are adequate “nibbles” to clear their palettes and metabolize the alcohol.

It is also a good idea to know, before the event, the proper conditions for serving each wine purchased, which means understanding the perfect temperatures and types of glass needed for each of the bottles served.