So you’ve decided to host your own wine tasting night.
Home wine tastings are a brilliant way to spend quality time with friends and drink some beautiful wines in the comfort of your own home.
There are few tips you should know when planning your night, but truth be told, a wine night is generally a really simple thing to organise.
The most important thing is delicious wine (of course), a good playlist, and a group of friends ready to have an amazing time together!
How do I host a wine tasting at home?
There are a few things (besides the wine, of course!) that you’ll need to think about when planning a wine tasting at home.
Location
Depending on the size of your party, you should try to ensure everyone has a seat around the dining room table.
For smaller events, the living room sofa and coffee table might do!
Type of wine tasting
You might like to keep it simple by telling guests to bring any type of wine they like, or make it more of a competition by choosing a specific varietal – more on this below!
Food
Along with delicious wine, you should also consider creating a beautiful cheese board or other snacks for guests to enjoy in between sips.
Wine
Now, the part we’re really here for!
If you’re planning a wine night, the best way to buy wine online in Australia is with I Like Wine!
With a huge selection of wines from all over the world, our wine connoisseurs accept only the best wines to our catalogue.
What are the different types of wine nights?
There are a number of different DIY wine tastings you can have, including:
- Blind wine tasting (friendly competition and SO much fun)
- Wine pairings (paired with food to elevate a standard dinner party)
- Virtual wine nights (particularly popular over the last 2 years!)
However our favourite is definitely the blind wine tasting. It’s a fun event with a little friendly competition, guaranteed to deliver lots of laughs and good times with friends.
1. How do you host a Blind Wine Tasting party at home?
A blind wine tasting party means that the guests won’t have any information on the wines they’re drinking until after they’ve sampled each one.
As guests arrive, ask them to quickly conceal their bottle by placing it in a brown paper bag.
Once all the bottles are concealed, someone needs to number the bags. This way, no one will be able to identify the bottle they brought.
This concealed information includes the wine’s:
- Sugar content
- Dryness
- Region of origin
- Acidity
- Tannin content
- Alcoholic content
And now, the competition is nearly ready to begin.
Ensure each guest has their glass as well as a pen and piece of paper. One person then picks up Bottle #1 and pours a tasting into each glass.
Guests now taste the first wine, using the five S’s (which we’ve discussed in detail many times before!)
They are:
- See – identify the textures, colour, and depth of the beverage
- Swirl – this helps to accentuate the aromatics and flavours
- Smell – your first detection of the flavours and taste
- Sip – discover various notes and levels of palettes
- Savour – discuss with your friends what they think of this particular wine and compare it to the other wines
Guests then have a few minutes to write down their thoughts on the wine (including the taste and texture) and give it a score out of 10. You can even ask guests to use only three words to describe each wine to keep the game moving.
The process continues until each bottle has been sampled.
Someone then collects the slips and tallies the scores.
We then work backwards, from the least favoured bottle, eventually working out the winner.
The loser is then responsible for hosting the next wine night!
Pick a theme!
The best way to host a blind tasting is to be specific with a theme.
That means each guest brings a wine that is the same varietal from a particular region.
For example, the theme could be “red wines from Italy” or “sparkling wine from France”.
You can also add penalty or bonus points, such as -10 points for wine that costs more than $50, or +10 points if it’s the cheapest purchase out of the group.
If you really want to go all out, you can also add a dress code that matches the theme!
What wine do I buy for my wine tasting night?
Searching for the perfect drop for your upcoming wine night?
Order red wine online from the world’s best regions, including Italy, France, the US, and right here in Australia.
Our white wine selection includes chardonnay, riesling, and Pinot Grigio, so find your new favourite when you order white wine online here.
I Like Wine offers a variety of wines from all over the world!
When organising a DIY wine night, you’ll need a comprehensive range of white, red, and sparkling wines for your guests.
Whether you’re searching for decadent drops or looking for a bargain with our cheap wine online, our huge range is sure to satisfy.
Shop now!
