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Ever Have A Wine Tasting Party ! Step by step---Wine tasting tutorial, Free Wine scoring sheet, and all you need to know about hosting a great wine tasting bash !
HOW TO TASTE WINE PROPERLY
Learning how to taste wines is a straight forward adventure. If done right it will come to deepen your appreciation of good wine.
What are we looking for--- Look, smell and taste? Its as simple as that.
You will be using your basic sense's. After some practice you will be taste wines like the pros ...
First Pour a glass of wine. Please use a proper wine glass. Now -- look at the wine? What color is it? Now look beyond just red, is it dark red, dark burgundy, pale red, purple, ruby, tea colored, you get the idea. If white, is it pale yellow, pale wheat, light green, perhaps its straw colored?
Now, look for opacity. Is it very clear, cloudy, opaque? Tilt your glass a bit, give it a swirl, are you picking up sediment or cloudiness? Tip; an older red wine will be very much translucent, than a young red.
Time to use your nose. Swirl the wine a bit then smell. The swirl will aid in bringing forth the aromas of the wine. Your first smell should be brief, a quick sniff. make a mental note, what smells did you pick up? Oak, berries, was it spicy? Now -- stick your nose into the glass breath in the aroma deeply. What's your second impression? Did you pick up the same aroma or have you picked up something different? Sometimes that second smell will give you a totally different experience. Did you pick up oak, berry, flowers, vanilla or citrus odor's? A wine's aroma is an excellent indicator of its quality. The aroma will tell you of the wines unique characteristics. Gently swirl the wine once more, let the aromas blend together, and sniff again. Just to make sure you have enjoyed the aroma, and see if you pick up any further aromas?
Its time to taste----There are three stages of taste: First, take a small sip into your mouth, let it roll around your tongue (don't gargle it)... After you have rolled the wine on your tongue, take a small breath of air into your mouth. Let the air mingle with the wine. (This maneuver is called swirling.) The air will help you really taste the wine. What do you taste? Are you picking up any of the oak, berry, citrus, such as you sensed with your smelling technique? Most often reds will taste woody, oak, with under tones of berry, even a bit like bell peppers. White's will have undertones of apple, citrus, and floral.
The Initial Taste - This is your first impression of the wine's components and flavors.
The Finish - The wine's finish is how long the flavor lasts after it has been swallowed. How long did the flavor last? Did it last several seconds or perhaps longer? Ask yourself, was the wine light-bodied, like water or full-bodied with a heavier consistency?
After you have taste your wine, you might want to ponder your impressions of the particular wine you tasted. Did you like the wine? Would you want to buy a bottle, and enjoy it again?
Wine tasting is easy... And what you might love, another might dislike. Its all in once own taste buds... There is no set rule for what tastes better in wine, it is objectively up to the individual taster. If your sense's were pleased with the tasting experience, its a good wine in your opinion..
Please check out my other Lenses...To learn more about wine Under One Pergola !
I love wine, and have had so much fun writing, and building several Squidoo lenses on the very subject. I wanted to make it easy, and convienent for my wine loving readers to have a look see at all my wine related sites, under one pergola - so to speak. If you have stumbled into this page, and love wine? I have put together some great informational lenses. So please stop in.
http://www.squidoo.com/sharswineinfo/
HEY! scroll on down, I have just added a great bit on "Host A Wine Tasting Party!" Great step by step tutorial, wine sroring sheet, and so much more... Do you know what the term legs means, when refering to wine? see below
A FEW INTERESTING ARTICLE'S ON WINE
- Wine Wise...
- The ideal temperature of a wine cellar is 58 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tennis enthusiasts find Riesling and Seltzer water an excellent long drink. read more... - Table Wines - California Wines...
- "In this guide the table wines of California are classified according to color, red, white, or rose, and according to whether they are generic or varietal." read more...
- Wine Lovers Page...
- "Off to Tuscany!
Tuscan Sun, Tuscan Year, Tuscan Hills, Tuscan Childhood ... Tuscany is hot these days, featured in dozens of new books, drawing attention as a travel destination, for its food, and of course for its wealth of world-class wines. Tuscany is drawing so much attention that one wonders why it took so many people so long to "discover" this historic Italian region---" read more..
New Flickr Pictures
Wine Region Along The Rhine...
Napa Valleys vineyards. ...
Bottles aging
Wine aged in oak...
MY WINE PICK OF THE MONTH...
By Sharon Stajda,Cherry KIJAFA... This is a very inexpensive desert wine. It is wonderful!
Served cold or room temperature. Alcohol 16%. Serve Over ice or straight up. It is a nice meal closer, and greatly compliments chocolate . I like to serve it at the Holidays with homemade chocolate covered maraschino cherries. Please leave the stems on...
It can be mixed with other beverages, I have added a couple recipes below.
The Winery: J.J. Jacobsen. Denmark. The company began making wine in 1841, Cherry KIJAFA was one of the first wines they produced. Can you believe its still around? I hope you will try this wine, and return and give me your thoughts in the way of feedback.
Awards:
"Vino Challenge International Superlative Wine. " Won The GOLD--- In 1999.
Availability : Generally available. Produced and sold in Denmark. Known to be distributed in parts of United Kingdom, Europe and North America. Regional. Available for on-line ordering in some markets. As a rule most wine stores. and some supper markets carry KIJAFA.
Cherry Martini.. Add a Chocolate Kiss
Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain
1 ½ oz vodka ( 100 proof)
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
½ oz (cherry Kijafa.
The Ruby...
Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain
½ oz Galliano
1 oz brandy (3 cl, 1/4 gills)
½ oz cherry Kijafa
½ oz orange juice
Serve in a cocktail glass (4.5 oz)
WINE WORD OF THE DAY... LEGS
- Wine Legs...
- "Every once in a while you will see someone swirl their glass of wine, raise it towards the light and watch with bated breath for the wine's legs to appear, a mythical indicator of wine quality. These legs, or tears as the French refer to them, are the streaks of wine forming on the side of the wine glass. The legs were once thought to be associated with a wine's quality (the more legs, the higher the quality). However, the legs have more to do with physics, the wine's surface tension and alcohol content, than perceived quality. " Please read more...
WINE TASTING TIP: Distinguish Sweet From Fruity
THE SOMMELIER...Wine Taster Superior
THE SOMMELIER
Due to wine being so in fashion, it is rarer to hear the waiter simply ask red or white wine anymore? Nowadays, most restaurant offer a wine list. The list as a rule will have a wide selection of wines to offer there customer.
The fact is most people are uncertain about just which wine to choose? A well versed waiter as a rule will be able to help with wine choice. Some high scaled restaurants will have a Sommelier on staff.
A Sommelier is considered a professional, that is well educated on all that is wine. They are well versed in wine, from A-Z so to say. It is their job not only to come to the aid of customers in making a good wine selection for dinner, but the Sommelier is also responsible for purchasing the restaurants wine, and keeping the cellar well stocked. So as you would surmise, he must know wine...
A Sommelier's basic role is cultivation. They must be well educated on regional, national and international vine cultivation. Also they must posses knowledge on wine making, and sampling methods. They also must be experts on pairing wine with food, and other liqueur's.
It can be said the Sommelier is actually the link between wine growers, and the wine that ends up in the patrons glass. Sommelier's through visiting Winery's and tasting many diferent wines, choose the best wine for their employers wine cellar.
They must be able to narrow down their wine choices, from an enormous variety of different wines that are offered to the market. The cellar they build will reflect on the restaurant, so it is important for the Sommelier to be very well versed not only old wine's, the truly finest wine's but what wines are popular with the gemeral public (what's the wine of the day, so to say).
A Sommelier service in the dining room must be a colorful, but at the same time, distinguished and refined. They should be capable of putting the customer at ease, and be able to suggesting just the right wine for the meal to be served.
SOMMELIER WINE TASTER SUPERIOR ...
The Sommelier should have a well polished demeanor
Sommelier, must visit wineries, to collect just the right wines
A Sommelier will provide you with just the right wine..
wine connoisseurs
A WINE TASTING PARTY CAN BE SO MUCH FUN !
Look at the great spread...Make it Potluck---
Looks like fun !
It can be so much fun--- Remember your drinking lots of wine!
Warm and cozy , I think their just getting started?
Hey--- want a grat girls night out?
Check for clarity, and viscosity. Is the wine thin or of milk constancy? When you swirl it in the glass, are there legs? What color is the wine?
Good example of legs
Sintra, Portugal
Now swirl the wine, put your nse deep into the glass take a good deep wiff...
HOST A WINE TASTING PARTY!
IT IS SUCH FUN---
- Hosting a Wine Tasting Party---
Keep in mind you are drinking wine, so inhibition will be tossed to the side...
Here are a couple of different ways to host a wine tasting party. I prefer the fun way...
Wine Tasting Party 100 - Is geared to make the tasting of wine a not so serious undertaking. Lets learn, but keep the party fun and light hearted...
To start gets some fun invitations. Make a note on the invitation letting your friend's know what type of wine's will be tasted the night of the party. For instance; red wine's, white wines, Champagne. This will give them a chance ( if they desire) to bone up on a given type of wine. Always keep to one type of wine. This way you won't mess with the taste buds, by mixing wine types.A nice size party is from 12 to 16 people.
So if your theme wine will be Cabernets (Cabs), choose 4 to 6 different Cabs you will taste and compare, and rate. A tip when selecting your wines, its fun to choose wines from different regions, of the country or from around the world. Its also interesting to compare variety of different price ranges. You will be surprised, how many times the cheaper wine is rate well...
Make sure to provide wine glasses that are good for tasting. The wines should be bagged, so as to keep the guests from seeing the bottle, this keeps it honest, so to say...
Also if your guest provided a bottle, they will show no prejudice.
Should food be provided? It is smart to provide some munches. Cheese's are good foe a wine tasting. After the tasting is done, I suggest food be offered. I like to provide the wine, let the friends provide a potluck. It makes less work for the host.
When serving the wine, add about 2 oz. per glass. If your friend's are not versed on wine tasting, give a little tutorial, before you began. A tutorial, can be not only educational, but loads of fun...
Its time to taste the wine! Give each guest a sheet of paper to make notes.
The score sheet should have categories with box's from 1-5. 1 being the lowest score, 5 being the highest score.
Your categories will consist of:
1. Look: What color is it? Look beyond just red, white or blush. Is the red wine the color maroon, ruby, garnet, so on... ? If white it's a is it clear, straw-like, golden, light green,so on?
2.Keep looking: Move on to the wine's opacity. Is the wine clear, cloudy, transparent or opaque? Tilt your glass a bit, give it a little swirl - look again. Is it still clear ?- Have you found any sediment, bits of cork or any other floating bits? Keep in mind,an older red wine will be more translucent than younger red wines.
3. Smell : The sense of smell is critical in analyzing a glass of wine. To get the best impression of your wine's aroma, gently- swirl your glass (this will help to bring out the wine's aromas) . Take one more quick deep whiff to gain a first impression.
4. Still Smelling: Now stick your nose down into the glass and take a deep inhale through the nose. Get a second impressions? What are you picking up? Do you smell oak, berry, flowers, vanilla or citrus? A wine's aroma is an excellent indicator of its quality and unique characteristics.
5. Taste : Time to taste. take a small sip, and let it roll around your tongue, don't swallow! After your initial impression of the wine, allow a small breath of air in through your lips and allow the wine to mingle with the air (called swirling).
At this point you will pick up deeper flavors. Ask yourself, what do you taste? Reds will often have berry, woody and bell pepper tastes. White wines will often have apple, floral or citrus flavors associated with them.
This Initial Taste will be your first impression of the wine's components and flavors.
6. The Finish, the Finale--- The wine's finish is rated on how long the flavor lasts after the wine has been swallowed. Did it last several seconds or linger longer? Were you impressed with how light-bodied the wine was (like water). Perhaps the wine was full-bodied (like the consistency of milk)?
Last of all have your guest write down their Impressions of the wine. Encourage them to to anwser question's such as, would they buy it again or not? Do they think the wine was worth the price? Also--- what do they feel the given wine would best pair with, in regard to food?
WINEOPEDIA WINE SCORING SHEET...
Wine Scoring SheetTaster's Name___________________
After tasting make some notes on;
The Look of the wine
The smell of the wine
The taste of the wine
The after swallow, after taste of the wine
Was it worth the price?
Wine A _______Pts
Wine B________Pts.
Wine C________Pts.
Wine D _______Pts.
Wine E________Pts.
Wine F________Pts.
Rating system
I love this wine! 5 Pts.
I really like this wine... 4 Pts.
Its good- but 3 Pts.
This wine is not good... 2 Pts.
I don't like this wine-its bad! 1 Pt.
LETS MASTER WINE LINGO...
Dry- Dry is opposite of sweet. This occurs when all the sugar from the grape is turned into alcohol and carbon dioxide. If the wine is slightly sweet yet dry, this is called, off sweet.
Balance- This is when none of the wines flavors are out of wack. The acid, alcohol, fruit , and tannins work together to taste balanced.
Finish- This is the term for the wines after taste. It indicates what tastes and smells linger after the wine has been swallowed. The longer the finish the better the wine.
Complex-Layers and nuances of wine flavor. A complex wine will have many flavors and depth. As a rule aged wine is more complex than young wine.
Fruity- the term fruity is used when the wine is fruity... When other fruit flavors are tasted in the wine, such as berry, currants and so on. The wine has a bang of fruit!
Crisp- A wine that is crisp- will have a good amount of acid in it, without lot of sweetness. Think of tart apple?
Places You Might Like To Visit...
- WINE PARTY ONE STOP SHOP...
- Everything you need for a good time...just add wine.Included are wine tasting party invitations, and wine information references including the most comprehensive wine tasting descriptors chart available anywhere. Every game includes a range of wine information from questions and answers about red wine health benefits to movie and song quotes about wine.
The focus of the game is discussing and assessing the wine appreciation factors in respect to the wine being tasted. By the end of the game each player will have scored the wine on three categories resulting in their personal wine rating. - Excellent Wine
- Here is just one of Squidoos lenses you might want to check out...That is if you love Wine...
New YouTube
SOME INTERESTING ARTICLES ON INTERTAINING
- Men As Hosts...
- "Skill in the care and feeding of guests has so long been considered woman's prerogative that men who show any marked degree of proficiency in the field are generally supposed to have mastered a feat not altogether natural to them, like those performing dogs you see who've learned to walk erect and count to five. Women, of course, are responsible for the popularity of this ungenerous theory." Read more...
- Party Planning And Entertaining ...
- "I suppose I should know a little about the art of entertaining. I've been at it long enough. On and off for forty years I've been giving parties, some 2000 in all - big parties, little parties, fantastic parties, spectacular parties. Parties in New York, Hollywood, London, Paris, Monte Carlo, Cannes, Biarritz, Venice, Egypt.--- " read more...
- The Perfect Hostess and Others...
- "Not, I grant you, an instance of behavior likely to make just anyone very, very popular as a hostess, yet such was the way of the woman who, shortly before the turn of the century, brought London society to its collective knee and kept it there for close to fifty years. Lady Cunard loved to gather her lions together, lash them with the whip of her tongue, and watch them fight to the blood. " read more...
Winery Locator---And More!
- Wineography's Winery Directory...
- "Wineography's Winery Directory" is a well put together site. It has listings for Winery's all over the world. Giving information on location, and much more. Quickly directing you to each Winery's Internet site.
You will find this site easy to navigate, and very informative. Mark this one as a favorite. Enjoy...
NEED INVITATIONS FOR YOUR WINE TASTING PARTY ?
Check out the great selection of invitation's below...
I don't know about you, but when I am having any kind of party --- I like to be very organized. I also like to cut down on the running here and there. Why not purchase those needed invitations on ebay? They have a good selection...
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Sommelier's Cup, What A great Gift For A Wine Enthusiast !
Better yet, what about a door prize for your wine tasting party...
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byGreat Stuff on Amazon
Tasting Club: Gathering Together to Share and Savor Your Favorite Tastes
Amazon Price: $14.96 (as of 07/11/2009) 
The Wine Club: A Month-by-Month Guide to Learning About Wine with Friends
Amazon Price: (as of 07/11/2009)
The Wine Tasting Party Kit: Everything You Need to Host a Fun & Easy Wine Tasting Party at Home
Amazon Price: $18.21 (as of 07/11/2009)
How to Taste: A Guide to Enjoying Wine
Amazon Price: $20.80 (as of 07/11/2009)
Teach Yourself Wine Tasting
Amazon Price: $11.66 (as of 07/11/2009)
Great Wine Posters - on eBay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byWine Bottle openers on eBay
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand byThanks for taking a look at my Lens... I hope you will take time to sign my guestbook
affordablefinewines wrote...
Wow really a lot of info here to digest. Will have to visit over and over to get it all absorbed :)
Posted March 05, 2009
Kathy wrote
I enjoy your site. Lots of interesting info on wine. I'll come again!
Kathy
http://www.cheers2wine.com
Posted January 11, 2009
Hi - I looked up your lens, I thought the section on Wine Tasting Parties was great. I like the way you use the 100,101 idea for beginners ;-)
cheers!
Slacker's Guide to Wine Tasting Clubs.
Posted September 12, 2008
archetekt wrote...
Did you see the winelibrary guy on Conan? What is with the grass, dirt and socks? I love wine but I must be missing something. Check it out: http://tv.winelibrary.com/gary-vaynerchuk-on-late-night-with-conan-obrien and reply here please.
Posted December 08, 2007
Jackson wrote
thanks for the info, wine dinner starts in 2 hours so your score sheet was very helpful
Posted September 29, 2007
