Nothing pairs better with wine than great company.  With good wine and good friends, you are guaranteed a good time.  Wine tastings are a great way to indulge in your favorite drink, spend time with your friends and cultivate a sense of experimentation and adventure. 

Hosting your own wine tasting with a group of friends is an activity that will help keep evenings at home exciting and will also help to broaden your wine repertoire.  With just a little planning and an enthusiastic group of wine lovers, you can pull off a successful and fun in-home wine tasting.

These kinds of events are best for a small- to medium-sized group of people, so it is important to assess your resources and the logistics before the inviting begins.  A few important considerations to keep in mind are glassware, table setup, any written material, and budget. 

As far as glassware is concerned, one glass for each person should suffice.  Traditional pours for tastings are usually 2 ounces, so a smaller white wine glass is ideal.  Generally, wines should be tasted in a certain order: white before red, lighter-bodied before full-bodied, and dry before sweet are good rules of thumb. 

Also, it is helpful to provide a list of the wines being served, or provide some paper that people can jot down their impressions and tasting notes.

You may either choose to provide all of the wines or have each person bring a wine of their own.  Budget is always at your discretion, so let everyone know if you want to place limits.

As far as serving, six to ten wines is a good number of wines for this kind of occasion.  It is appropriate to provide some sort of spit-bucket or disposal device.  If you want to serve food, choose small appetizers or even simple cheese and crackers.  Guests should also be encouraged to bring their favorite snacks.

Lastly, and also the most fun part, a theme should be chosen. There are thousands of different ideas, but broader categories are the easiest to find wines for.  For example, different wines from the same country or different regions of the same varietal are always fun themes. 

If you want to be a little more creative pick wines that are intended to pair with a set food item, or have everyone choose a wine from a grape variety or country that they have never tried before.   It is also fun to do “blind” tastings in which the bottle is concealed from the guests until the very end, allowing each wine to be judged in its own context, without consideration for labels, brand names, or preconceived notions you may possess.  Most of all, remember to have fun and continue expanding your palate!

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