Hosting a home wine tasting is a great way to get together with your friends and family. It’s personal, fun and best of all, easy to do.
No, you do not have to be a sommelier or even a vinophile to have a home wine tasting party. All you need to do is follow these simple steps for a home wine tasting party.
Soon enough, you’ll all have more knowledge about wine than ever because after all, the best way to learn about wine is to taste it.
This post was sponsored by ēlicit Wine Project. All insight and suggestions are my own. Hope you like these tips!
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Overall Steps for Hosting a Home Wine Tasting
To host a wine tasting in your home, these are the general steps you need to complete for a great night. This takes into consideration every step from inviting people to enjoying the night.
Here’s the general outline of what to do when having a home wine tasting party. Make sure to keep reading for more details!
- Invite 8-10 people.
- Choose the theme of your at home wine tasting.
- Based on how many people you’re inviting, estimate and order how much wine, food and supplies (i.e. glassware) you’ll need for your party.
- Prep and set up for the party.
- Host the wine tasting!
1. Invite 8-10 people to your home wine tasting party.
A wine tasting party works best with about 7-10 people. With too little people, you’re not able to try as many wines.
With too many people, your wine tasting party can lose focus or you may not even have enough supplies (although you can easily work your way around this).
It’s best to keep an intimate setting for in home wine tasting.
Tip: If you want this to feel like an event or a bit more formal, send an e-vite with Paperless Post or Evite.
2. Choose a wine theme.
If it’s your first time hosting a wine tasting party at home or you want your party to have a focus, then it’s a good idea to choose a theme.
Some basic wine tasting ideas to start off with can including choosing wine by:
- region,
- variety,
- brand,
- cost (i.e. expensive vs. cheap),
- or keep it simple, with color.
For example, you can focus on white wines from abroad or choose wines from a specific region like Washington State.
ēlicit Wine Project allows you to pick wines by brand, variety, color and even occasion.
3. Order wine, food and supplies.
Wine
A bottle of wine has about 10 taste servings, which each serving being around 2 to 3 ounces. As a result, you should get two bottles of the same wine for a party of 8-10 people.
You can decide how many different wines you want to try but we suggest a minimum of three wines, meaning you’ll need to get at least six bottles of wine.
How to Save Money on Wine for Your Party
Since this can get pricey, you might want to look into an ēlicit Wine Project subscription, which allows you to get 12 bottles in a box every month, every two months or even quarterly.
When you build a subscription box with 12 bottles, you get save 15% off wine and virtually free shipping (shipping is only a penny).
Another way you can save money is by asking your friends to bring wine, which is totally ok to do since you’re hosting. Just make sure to tell them what the theme of the party is so the wines are coordinated.
Food
To keep your wine tasting simple and to maximize the taste of wine, you do not need to pair food with it.
However, you do want to buy crackers as palate cleansers in between each tasting and provide food either before or before and after. People will be hungry after their palates stimulated by the wine!
Supplies
You might think you need an at home wine tasting kit, but with a subscription box of 12 bottles from ēlicit Wine Project and the following items, the only thing you might need is extra glasses:
- two glasses per person,
- plates,
- a wine opener,
- a decanter for bold reds,
- water glasses,
- a spittoon for those who do not want to drink their tasting (personal ones with disposable cups are possible),
- a large pitcher to dump out tastings,
- napkins,
- wine bags or paper brown bags for blind tastings, and
- pen and paper for anyone who wants to take notes.
If you do not have enough glasses, you can rent some or buy two sets of these wine glasses (totaling 16 glasses, which is good for eight people).
4. Set up for the party.
To set up for your party, you’ll want to setup a table where everyone will do their tasting. Each setting should have two wine glasses, a water glass, a personal spittoon and a piece of paper and pen for notes.
In the center, you could also have a pitcher to dump wine into and crackers to share.
You’ll also want to decant the red wines so they air out by the time the tasting starts and prepare any food to serve before or before and after the wine tasting.
You may want to print out some information about your wine theme such as information about the grape variety you’re having or the region of the wines you’re tasting wines from. You could also print out information of the wines you are drinking in case any of your guests have questions about them.
5. Host the wine tasting!
As everyone starts to arrive, you may want to put out appetizers and provide an aperitif (a pre-dinner/tasting drink). The small snacks and aperitif may help loosen everyone up and get them ready for the tasting.
Once it’s time for the wine tasting, gather everyone around the table and give a brief introduction to the wine theme.
Pour two wines, and have everyone taste from each glass giving them time to write down their thoughts. You may guide them to compare and contrast the flavor, color and smell of the two wines.
After everyone tastes both, it’s time to discuss everyone’s observations and see how it compares to the information on the bottle or the vineyard’s site (if you went above and beyond).
Repeat the above steps with more wines, then enjoy a meal together after.
I hope this helps you with your home wine tasting.
Remember to check out ēlicit Wine Project to see their flexible subscription options to save money and add to meaningful experiences shared together with your friends and family.
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