Let the good times pour: Here are several tips and tricks to hosting a perfect wine tasting.
First, determine your selection—and never pour more than six wines: Less is hardly worth the effort and more can become a bore.
Then consider the style: If you do a blind tasting, cover the bottles with numbered paper bags to hide their labels and shapes.
If it’s not a blind tasting, pick a theme: Choose one region, say Tuscany, and taste different vineyards, or a single estate and sample different vintages.
When it comes time to serve, use standard wine glasses and pour about an ounce. Guests can keep their glasses half-full of their favorites later.
Have still water and salted crackers or focaccia available during the tasting to help cleanse the palate.
Come dinner, simple is best: Serve mild cheese, chicken broth, a steak or fillet of fish, and your guests can match their wines accordingly.
Top the night off with a toast: As Lord Byron once said, “Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter / Sermons and soda water the day after.”