Enjoying Wines

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Charles asks…

How can I organise a wine tasting for 12 people at home? What questions should be asked?

I went to a similar event in Chicago but can’t remember the questions! It was done as a fun competition with scores for the person with the most right answers. Wine was restricted to particular region (i.e. New Word) not more than £10/bottle. Questions included color, clarity, after taste, price, name of wine etc. Prizes for whoever got most right. Fun evening, supper included.

Wines Manager answers:

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.

Click on this Wine Tasting picture to learn how to get Wine Tasting Invitation Postcards

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.

Http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art33071.asp

http://www.expertrating.com/quizzes/Wine-Etiquette-Quiz.asp

http://www.drvino.com/winequiz2005.php

http://www.wineeducation.com/quiz/quizl/quizl.html

http://www.dewijnhoek.com/engdewijnhoek/spel2.html

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Maybe not as famous as Napa, Temecula is California’s Southern Wine Country. If you go on a Temecula wine tasting vacation, you’ll enjoy award winning wines, great wineries, an excellent atmosphere and gourmet restaurants. Lots of companies offer full service guides to the Wine country, accompanying visitors through scenic vineyards and showing them the best sights of the area. The staff working for such companies can give the visitor an insight of the area’s history, tradition and wineries, the way only a local could.

Good planning is required for Temecula wine tasting expeditions if you don’t join a guided tour. There is a total of 36 wineries, but every year Temecula Wine Country expands, and it is getting more difficult for the visitor to navigate alone. Moreover, when you are on your own, there is no one to answer your questions on wineries, varietals, wine making and more. For this reason mainly, tourists are encouraged to have a guide so as to make the best out of their Temecula wine tasting experience.

Many people choose to travel in groups, which will usually get them a discount per person. However, such details ought to be looked into when you make reservations, and you hire the services of a special Wine Country company, because there may be various special offers that you can take advantage of. If you search online, there are numerous blogs and directories that can help you find what you’re looking for. Temecula wine tasting holidays can be taken all year round, although late summer and fall are the best times of the year to travel here to enjoy both grapes and wine.

Another great and funny way to visit Temecula Valley is in a motorized cable car. You will thus get an incredible view of the vineyards, and taste some premium wines that the region is famous for. As part of this special tour, you’ll also get the feel of wine making besides Temecula wine tasting. The cable car can be an excellent choice for special and corporate events, birthdays, weddings, bachelor and bachelorette parties. The excellent taste of the wine in the vineyards will thus be doubled by the breathtaking views, the impressions and the novelty of the experience.

For a very customized Temecula wine tasting holiday, or some special afternoon, you can make reservations with a particular winery, and get full services with them.

Enjoy it all!

A home wine tasting party is a great experience to share with family and friends. Wine tasting usually creates a warm and entertaining atmosphere, with laughter and high spirits. Nevertheless, the host has quite a lot of responsibility and needs to plan things carefully in advance. Not only wine but food too deserves your attention, because you need to find the right matching. Even for the least pretentious home wine tasting party, you still need a balance between salty foods, delicate foods and rich foods.

Instead of supplying all the wine varietals yourself, it is a good idea to create a list with wines and ask everybody to bring a bottle. You will need to provide several glasses for every taster, good lighting and several types of food. This will give a chance to your guests to decide which wine matches a particular food and which doesn’t. It will in fact be a funny lesson for everybody, being able to tell whether the wine goes well with food or not. Encourage your guests to experiment!

You should pay attention to what you serve between wine and food courses. Dry crackers will allow your guests to change their taste, and get ready for the new wine tasting round. You can be as creative as you like, particularly as you have to prepare things in advance. A home wine tasting party can turn into a great experience. Even if you are the host, and you have to supervise things, remember to have fun and relax too. Being with family and friends should make this easier for you, particularly if you have some help with the organization aspects.

Two important aspects that influence the quality of your home wine tasting party is the temperature of the wine and the glasses you use to serve the beverages. The wine flavor comes out only when the wine is served at the right temperature. Sparkling wines should always be kept cold. White wines are usually served after chilling, while red wines like Burgundy are usually served at room temperature. You should have water available close by, so that the guests clear their pallets between tastings.

As for glasses, many people use plastic party glasses to cut down on cleaning afterwards. Yet, the main disadvantage here is that plastic recipients do not keep the wine cold. It is usually preferable and more elegant to use tulip glasses with bowl and stem. They look nice and really stylish, and everybody will feel the difference!