Going wine tasting-what should I do?

[keri]

Hi,
I'm going wine tasting in upstate New York in a few weeks and I'm very excited! My first wine tasting experience was in November-my husband and I were in Napa Valley and had a fabulous time.

During my first trip I had no idea what to expect, nor did I know what was expected of me and I still don't! I want to be able to show that I'm serious about the wine tasting and want to learn about it and not just drink. Are there certain questions I should ask? Are there certain things I should/shouldn't do? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[wineguruchgo]

Hi Keri,

There really isn't a protocol when it comes to wine tastings. What I recommend to people is "Drink water and sip wine". Otherwise you will be drunk pretty quickly. Most wineries offer wine tastings for free or at a discounted rate with the hopes that you are going to buy some wine. I try to buy at least one bottle from each winery I visit. If you are visiting more than one than keep track of what you have bought at each winery so you can buy something different.

Asking what kinds of foods the wines will go well with and writing it down will help you a few weeks after you get home. Trust me, you probably won't remember.

Just be yourself and you will be fine. If they say something that you don't understand please ask them what they mean. Their job is to educate you and there are no stupid questions.

I'm sure others on the board will have advice for you as well.

[Jackie]

Keri,

See my article on Wine Tasting Tips.

Go to:

http://wines.com/wine_education.html

[Drew]

Keri, I always use the spit buckets, otherwise you won't care what the stuff tastes like after a bunch of samples [img]http://www.wines.com/ubb2/biggrin.gif[/img]. Don't be embarrased to dump wine you don't like or wine poured at too high a fill. Devise a little, uncomplicated system of making notes so you'll remember the ones you like and want to seek out. I find it rude of people to hog the table not allowing waiting others the opportunity for a pour so generally converse or ask questions quickly, sniff, taste, spit and move on...have a great time. Let us know what you liked.

Drew