Follow these simple rules and your next visit to a wine tasting event will not only be more memorable but you may impress a few folks along the way! Don't Mess Up the Rotation!
Always taste from whites to reds. If you've already entered the red list and wanted to try a particular white again, try another day. Picking out fruit flavors in a pinot gris after the peppery zinfandels are next to impossible. If you're on the cusp on whether or not to buy it, go with your gut or come back another time to give your best attempt to taste it's intricacies.
Please, Step Away From the Wine!
Don't crowd the bar! If you're in a winery that is obviously busy at the tasting bar, back away from the bar after receiving your next tasting to give others a chance to progress in their tasting order. There's nothing worse than fighting a crowd when trying to taste.
Don't Wear Scents!
Don't wear perfume, cologne, or lotions. They WILL affect trying to pick up the aromas of the wine which will alter your perception in its taste, not to mention, ruin the experience for others.
Price Doesn't Mean Crap!
Don't be swayed by age or price. Quality and age of a wine has little to do with how it's priced - they are purely market-driven. Wineries charge outrageous prices because they know people exist that are willing to pay for it. You may find a $2 wine that knocks your socks off or find a "classic" wine that has you reaching for some water! Don't listen to snobs who look down at you for drinking something you enjoy - tell them to sod off! Drink and buy what you enjoy!
Awards. Should They Matter?
Don't pay too much attention to "award-winning" or "best-in-show" wines. Everywhere you turn, competitions are everywhere and sadly, all some wineries have to do is pay a small registration fee and Viola! - award winner.
Don't Waste Their Time
Don't go on a winery tour if you do not drink wine or don't have the slightest interest in even trying their wines. You're just wasting their time.
If You Can't Play Nice With Others...
Don't announce your disgust for the wine to the tasting room and staff. If the wine doesn't appeal to you, politely pour it out and keep your comments to yourself or at least wait until you get back to your car...
When in Rome...
Grip the glass gently between the thumb and the forefinger by the stem, swirl the wine gently in small circles. This aerates the wine, bringing out its subtle elements, or "nose." Place your nose above the brim of the glass and gently smell the wine's emerging aromas. Try to identify what you smell - Be Descriptive! Next, Take a small sip. Move the wine around in the whole mouth, to warm it slightly. Now, The "finish," or aftertaste lingers after swallowing (or spitting out) the wine, and note whether those lingering flavors are pleasant or not. This isn't a social drinking event and you're not there to just consume wine.
To Spit or Not to Spit?
Spitting the wine into a bucket is usually the final step in tasting. Though it is not necessarily required at an informal tasting, however, you can make that decision based on whether you have any driving to do, how many wines you plan to taste during the session and, just as importantly, how much you actually like the wine in question. If you're in a position where spitting is required - relax - spit the wine into the provided canister. Don't dribble or drool but rather try to spit a streamline of wine into the canister. Avoiding missing and spraying - you will get strange looks.
It's Not a Trough
If a fee is charged, it's acceptable for 2 people to share a tasting glass. Any more and you'll look like you're partaking in communion...
Color Within the Lines
Follow the wineries advice on tasting order. Winemakers spend a great deal of time making their wines and they know what's best. Just because you typically taste a cabernet after a merlot doesn't apply everywhere. Understand, winemaker's styles are different everywhere - they very well have made their merlot heavier than their cab so trust the order they provide.
Support the Winery
It's not required you purchase a bottle upon every tasting event. However, if you enjoyed yourself and the wines, then please do and support the winery. I always make it a rule: even if I don't enjoy the wine and they don't charge for tasting but the staff was exceptionally pleasant and knowledgeable and made the experience for me memorable, I will usually pick up a bottle of what I deemed "the best they offered" (according to me) to show support for the industry.
