Set up, wine list and tasting time!
What kind of wines
Our list includes a selection of wines, from light to heavy, within each category. You’ll need:
- 1 sparkling
- 3 whites
- 3 or 6 reds (depending on how many flights you want)
- 1 dessert wine
Order of engagement
- Within each flight, taste lighter wines first, using our list as a guide. In fact, take the list to the liquor store, where you can usually find a consultant to help with selections in any price range. Try some new grape varieties.
- Sparkling wines are light and palate cleansing — a great way to start.
- The best way to end your tasting is with a dessert wine, many of which work beautifully with chocolate.
- One bottle of each wine is ample, since each pour is about 1½ ounces (45 mL).
On the evening
- Refrigerate your sparkling, white and dessert wines the day before, and leave your reds in a cool location (the basement or a cooler).
- Set up your table with all the supplies.
- Shortly before your guests arrive, open all the wines, except the sparkling, to let them breathe a bit.
- Return the whites and dessert wine to the fridge.
- Hold the scented candles: They interfere with the aromas and bouquets of the wines.
Tasting time!
Once everyone is seated, take the whites out of the fridge to warm slightly and then open the bubbly. Do this by removing the foil and placing a napkin over the cork, holding on to it while you slowly turn the bottle until the cork gently pops. There should be no big ship-launching popping sounds or dangerous flying corks. Use the bubbly to practise the tasting technique of look, smell and taste, inviting your guests to make notes as they go.
- What does it look like?
- Does it have lots of bubbles or is it only slightly lively?
- Is it pale and almost colourless or light straw?
