Wine & Spirits

Getting to Know Your Palate

Broaden Your Knowledge With a Tasting at Home

    Organizing your own tasting is a great way to explore wines in greater depth and get to know your palate. It is the age-old way that almost all in the wine business came to learn which wines they really adore. Experiencing wines at home will give you a baseline of what to expect and help you understand which styles are your favorites.
    You should choose a theme for your tasting and focus on a grape varietal (Chardonnay), a region (Sonoma), style (great wines with steak) or a price point (wines under $20). Limit the number of wines you taste to better compare them. Four to five is usually ideal. Within any country or region, it’s always smart to choose wines from the same grape varietal or price point. Regional tasting approaches might involve sampling Sonoma Pinot Noirs, Washington Bordeaux blends or Argentine Malbecs.
    I lived in Italy for years, and it’s often fun to see how wines from other countries compare to local versions. So your at-home tasting could take a look at comparative grape varietals (Sangiovese from Italy and California) or a range of wines made from the same grapes from different regions (Chardonnay from Napa versus Sonoma). Another fun focus would be unique indigenous grapes from a region or country, like Chile’s Carmènere or Piedmont’s Barbera. Another classic alternative is to taste through a range of varietals from the same region or country, such as Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand or rosés from Spain.
    An exploratory visit to a local wine bar or retail shop is a great way to hone in on what you want to focus on at home. For example, ZZA’s Enoteca, which opened a few months ago on Grand Avenue, offers tasting pours and rotating flights for $12 to $15. And most good retailers, such as Paul Markus Wines in Market Hall on College Avenue, will offer you 10 percent off the price of a mixed case.
    Purchase approximately one bottle of each wine for every six people. The pours will be smaller than your average glass of wine (which is generally about a quarter of a bottle). An ounce is a good tasting pour and will leave some wine for guests to revisit their favorites. Invite at least five to six people so you can make a dent in the bottles you have purchased. However, the larger the party gets, the less academically focused you will find the tasting to be.
    The stemware you choose will have a huge impact on how the wines taste. It is well worth making a long-term investment by purchasing a six-pack of Riedel’s Ouverture series red and white wine glasses. They are good, introductory stemware that can be purchased on such Web sites as Amazon.com for about $30 for four. You can put out a numbered paper placemat for the glasses or put wine charms (dozens are available on Amazon and sites like Wine Enthusiast) on the glass stems.
    Your wines should be tasted in order from the simplest to the most complex. The heavier, more structured and older wines should come at the end. Chill the whites before serving them, and make sure the reds are not served too hot (“room temperature,” when suggested for red wines, is a reference to the climatic conditions in a Medieval castle, not a modern abode). Wines are best kept still and away from light; they should ideally be stored at about 58 degrees (this skews a bit warmer for reds and cooler for sparkling wine).
    You may want to hand out notes on the evening’s wines or have someone speak about each wine. If you are ambitious, try tasting the wines blind by covering them with paper bags and giving guests a cheat sheet listing the wines. Blind tastings are always eye-openers and will bring the wine geek out in almost anyone.
    When tasting the wines, swirl them in the glass to release the aromas and take a big sniff. The bulk of sensory information about a wine comes from the nose. Then take a sip and explore the flavors on your tongue; they can range from fruity to herbal and vegetal. Feel free to describe the character of the wine with whatever adjectives come to mind—there are no wrong answers.
    However you approach your tasting, make sure to leave time for discussion about the wines. Simple snacks like bruschetta, bread and spreads will also help you understand how the wines pair with food.
    A great tasting should be informative, explorative and great fun for all involved. So don’t hesitate to host one if you have the room and inclination.