How To Host a Wine Tasting

Have you ever experienced a wine tasting? Rather than simply drinking one bottle of wine with dinner or over conversation with friends, tastings provide an opportunity to try several different styles or vintages of wine in one sitting. As you taste each of these wines back to back, you are really able to detect the nuances — the aromas, the flavors, the acidity, the sweetness, how long the taste lingers, etc. 

Wine tastings are a great way to find your wine language, the style of wine that speaks to you most. It’s a conversation opportunity, as you and like minded wine drinkers bond over which styles you like most, discuss the wine pairing possibilities, and just have a good time together.

Wine tastings in a professional setting, such as at a winery or a restaurant, are educational and inspirational — but who’s to say you can’t host your own wine tasting in the comfort of your own home? It’s easy to organize, fun for everyone, and allows guests to introduce each other to their favorite wines or you can all experience new wines together.

Wine Tasting Party Tips

The first step to hosting a wine tasting is picking a theme. Decide what kind of wine you are going to spotlight during the tasting. Here are a few ideas to help get you started:

• Choose one country or wine region to feature.
• Stick to one particular wine and taste its different vintages (wine production year).
• Serve all different kinds of one particular style of wine, i.e., a variety of sparkling wine, white wines, rosés, or red wines, or get even more specific and serve only Pinot Grigio or Cabernet Franc.
• Pit two countries or regions against each other in a “wine war.”

After you have decided on the theme for the night, put together your guest list. Keep things small and intimate. That way it’s easier to engage with one another while tasting the wines, and you can pour each tasting from a single bottle rather than having to purchase too many duplicates of the same variety. 

If you aren’t sure how many bottles to purchase, a general rule of thumb is about one bottle per person. A 24-ounce bottle of wine is enough for 12 2-ounce servings, which is about what a tasting should be. Most guests will want to taste again, though, so you need to account for that. As the host, you can decide whether or not you want to supply all of the wines, or if you ask guests to bring a bottle that goes along with your theme of choice. 

Wine Tasting at Home Checklist 

As far as what to have on hand for your wine tasting party, we recommend the following:

• Champagne bottle stoppers for sparkling wine. These stoppers will keep the bubbles fresh, just in case you don’t happen to finish the entire bottle during your tasting. 
• An ice bucket for tasting wines that must be chilled.
• A spit bucket for those who want to taste all of the wine, but don’t necessarily want to drink all of them.
• A corkscrew to open the bottles of wine. The new SYLTBAR Corkscrew ($14.99) also has a foil cutter, making it multifunctional and very useful.
• The correct glassware for each style of wine, and enough glasses for each guest. Ideally, you should have at least two glasses per guest.
• Notepads and pens for guests to write down any tasting notes for discussion.
• Simple crackers, crostini or bread to act as palate cleansers between tastings. Since this is a wine tasting, not a wine pairing, it’s important to stay away from foods that could overpower the wine so you can really, truly taste it for what it’s worth. After the tasting portion is over, that’s when you can break out the cheese and charcuterie and other yummy party food!

Shop For All Your Wine Tasting Needs

At SYLTBAR, we love to host wine tastings. It gives us the chance to highlight all six of the wines in our collection: Mr SYLTBAR Premium Prosecco, Mrs SYLTBAR Sparkling Rosé, Silk Friulano, White Linen Pinot Grigio, Junior Pinot Grigio Ramato, and Cashmere Cabernet Franc. Purchase a few bottles of each individually, or order the SYLTBAR Mix Box, which includes two bottles of all six wines. We also offer the SYLTBAR Intro Box, which has one of each bottle.

By ordering our Mix or Intro Box, rather than purchasing bottles individually, you will save money and get complimentary shipping! The Mix Box saves you $31, and the Intro Box saves you $15 — plus, you save a lot by getting free shipping too. It’s a win-win! 

This lineup of wines is perfect for a tasting! All of the tasting notes and details about each wine are on our website, so as the host, you are able to provide guests with this information as they taste each wine in succession. 

Ready to host your SYLTBAR Wine Tasting?

Now that you have everything you need for your wine tasting, set the mood with some good music, light a few SYLTBAR soy candles, and you’re all set. If you host a wine tasting with SYLTBAR wines, snap a few photos to share on social media and make sure to tag us!