Erica's Choice

This past weekend I hosted a wine tasting with a group of friends.  The setup was very informal and basically required each person to bring a bottle of a wine that they like wrapped in a brown paper bag. We placed all wines on one table, numbered each and the tasting began…To compliment the wine I served a variety of cheeses, fruits and crackers. Overall the party was very large so we had over 20 different bottles to taste. It was fun! We all surely had enough wine and had the chance to taste a great variety of good (and others somewhat bad) wines during the evening.

During the tasting I purposely decided to use a less structured format as I thought it may help the group to discuss the wines among each other and create a more relaxed atmosphere.  I wanted people to focus both on the wine and each other and not only the wine (which often is the result during a formal tasting).  After the event however I questioned the success of this methodology.  Don’t misunderstand me – it was fun and we all had a great time catching up and sharing thoughts on the wine, however the lack of structure left some people confused and others, especially as the evening continued, couldn’t recall all the wines they tasted! Therefore I have decided to share with you my thoughts on what I think would make an informal wine tasting a success and what I plan to do going forward.

Informal Wine Tasting – defined

With informal I refer to a group of friends that like wine but whose knowledge of wine is not as great as most of my wine tweeps on Twitter, for example. The people in the group enjoy wine but may not be able to distinguish a Pinot from Washington County versus one from New Zealand, and frankly don’t really care to be able to do this. They’d like to learn about wine and improve their knowledge but the social aspect of wine is most important. Basically they want to learn more about wines that are good, affordable and easily available.

Steps to Implement to Ensure an Informal Wine Tasting is a Success

1. Define the purpose/scope

Yes, even during an informal wine tasting I strongly recommend to streamline the scope, especially where each participant brings his/her own bottle. By limiting the types of wine by grape varietals, continent/country, price range, among other, you allow certain similarities to be portrayed in the wines being tasted. As a result significant outliers are eliminated and you’re able to compare apples to apples versus comparing a great Chardonnay to a decadent Cabernet Sauvignon.  In addition, it removes the opportunity for some to bring the 2 buck Chuck while another person may bring their favorite of the season…

2. Smaller is better than larger

Even for informal gatherings a smaller group with similar preferences is more manageable than a large group. By limiting the size you truly create the opportunity to discuss each wine among one another and to rate it more appropriately while still having a good time and keeping the evening informal. In addition the larger the group the greater the preference. By limiting the group you can place people together that, for example, prefer reds over whites, or like to learn and taste wines from exotic countries vs. local ones.  The rating of wines in a smaller group is also much easier to manage and probably more reliable since everyone is able to discuss the wine among one another whilst also having time to form their own opinion.

3. Write it down!

Yes you are correct I said I don’t want a formal tasting, however I still strongly recommend writing down what you taste. Just keep it simple and stay away from the formal rating scales such as the one used by Parker. Define each wine by quality of the nose, the taste, and the appearance.  Rate each aspect of the wine and use this 3 method criteria to determine your favorite. If you don’t want to rate each criteria out of say, 5, then use great, good, average, and bad instead. If you want, let each person add a ‘why’ for their decision and you can compare results as it will enhance discussion of the wines among the group and maybe highlight something missed by other people.

4.  You have to chose: Red, White, or Pink, not all three!

Some people love their red cabs, others only drink whites, and other wine lovers will only drink Roses in the summer. In other words, when you have a wine tasting those of us with a pre-determined preference may already have disqualified half of the bottles on the table!

5. Don’t cheat!

Yes, during our evening most of us, including me, peaked at the bottle or figured out who brought a specific bottle! The temptation is just so high! All fun aside, however, if you truly want a tasting to be a success then don’t cheat! Wrap all bottles in blank paper bags or newspaper, remove the corks beforehand and remove any colors on the tip of the bottle. Once all of this is done only then number each bottle. By keeping the tasting 100% anonymous you increase the opportunity for the results to be surprising and entertaining. It further ensures increased conversation among group members and adds a touch of excitement to the evening as a whole.