Wine Tasting FAQs

Today's post is a guest post from Warren Howe, a wine lover and writer for Vintage Cellars, an online retailer of wine storage products and custom wine cellar design company. Vintage Cellars has designed wine cellars across the United States and has been recognized by Wine Spectator magazine. 


If you’ve ever attended a wine tasting, you know it is a truly unique and valuable experience for wine novices and experts alike. In many ways, wine tastings have their own culture and processes that are important to be aware of. The following are some of the most frequently asked questions when it comes to attending wine tastings.

What is a wine tasting?
A wine tasting is simply a gathering of people who have come together to taste and share about wine. This might be at a winery tasting room or at a friend’s house but what important is that there is a multitude of wine to sample, compare, and discuss. 

What’s the point of going to a wine tasting?
Wine tastings are an outstanding opportunity to try a variety of wines and expand your palate. By sampling new wines and challenging yourself to discover new dimensions in wines, you’ll develop a greater understanding of the wines you enjoy most and maybe even find ones you never knew you liked.

But wine tastings aren’t just about getting to try wine. They’re about getting to connect with your fellow wine tasters. By comparing tasting notes and sharing your wine knowledge with your fellow oenophiles, you’ll gain new perspectives about the wine. If you’re at a winery, tastings are the perfect opportunity to hear from the winemaker about how the wine is made and the story behind the wine. 

What are the buckets for?
One of the most curious (but important!) aspects of wine tastings are the spit buckets. Instead of drinking many glasses of wine, wine tasters often choose to spit out the wine after tasting. This not only ensures that much more wine can be tasted safely, it also allows tasters to maintain their ability to detect the subtle taste of the various wines.

What’s the best way to taste wine?
Wine tasters all have different methods for tasting wine but there are a few rules that hold true for all levels of wine enthusiasts. Start by swirling your wine to aerate the wine and release deeper scents and flavors. Sniff the wine to see what aromas you can carefully detect. Take a few sips and identify how the wine changes from your first impression to further samplings. What are some of the more subtle tastes you can find? What is the wine’s texture?

What shouldn’t I do at wine tastings?
The most important thing to be aware of is how you might be affecting another taster’s ability to form their own opinions. That means don’t wear heavy perfume or cologne and certainly don’t smoke. Also, try not to discuss your tasting notes with others until all have tasted the wine.