how to set up a wine tasting

To set up a wine tasting first pick as broad or specific a theme as you like. Beginning tasters might select several wines from a different varietal (grape type) to demonstrate the differences between them. Another option is to choose several wines made from a single varietal to show how a grape type can yield different-tasting wines depending on where the vineyards are located. More experienced tasters hold "vertical" tastings, where wines of a single vineyard or winery in a range of vintages are sampled to determine the best vintage years.

The number of wines served at a tasting varies, but eight to ten is typical. To avoid being influenced by perceptions based on label information, hide the identities of the wines by covering the bottles with foil or placing them in bags sealed with elastic bands or tape. Use numbers or letters for identification (a "blind" tasting). Also provide drinking water, bread or crackers, paper and writing utensils, and containers or "spit buckets" for spitting or dumping excess wine.

At an informal tasting, guests can sample the wines and discuss them one at a time. This saves on glasses and cleanup. Or, to compare the wines side-by-side, serve them in a "flight" (a group of wines for tasting), which requires each person be supplied with a glass for each wine tasted. To serve, pour a small portion--one to two ounces--into clean stemware. If there are both whites and reds to taste, serve the whites first. When everyone has finished tasting the flight, it's time to discuss the wines. Don't hesitate to express your opinions. Even inexperienced tasters can be uncannily accurate when it comes to wine.

Scoring the wines or naming favorites will yield a group consensus on the best wines of the bunch. The results can be surprising, such as when the least expensive wine takes top honors.