Wine Tasting Venues

Tasting venues range from the casual, private wine tasting party with friends to the day trip to a local vineyard to formal wine tasting dinners.

In addition to ensuring that you have enough wine, glasses, water and other necessities, it is important to consider the environment. Guests should be comfortable, this means enough seating, and not be bothered by annoying odours or insects. Avoid using incense or strong deodorizers, or even citronella candles, during or prior to a wine tasting.

Wine tastings can either be done blind or with full knowledge. In a blind wine tasting each of the wines is concealed in a bag and identified only by a number until the end of the tasting. This tends to result in less bias . . . and it's also fun to see if you can guess the wine.

 

A formal or semi formal dinner can follow a private wine tasting in your home, but most often wine tasting dinners are held at restaurants or vineyards. Prices range from very reasonable to quite costly. This is an excellent time to learn about paring food and wine from appetizer to dessert. Some dinners will pair food and wine along a theme, for instance, a selection of Australian wines to accompany authentic Australian cuisine.

Wine tasting dinners typically require a reservation. Call the restaurant or winery well in advance to make a reservation and verify dress.

Most vineyards have tasting rooms so visitors can sample their wines after a tour of the grounds. One important thing to remember about participating in a tasting at a vineyard is that the main function of providing a tasting room to visitors is to sell wine.

Many vineyards will also offer private wine tasting parties or dinners and are available for events such as weddings, birthdays and other special occasions.