Wine tasting for novices
Discussion
I am NOT a biff in this area, having worked for some very good wine bars and bistros in the past. I'm a member of the Wine Society and while I don't know every vineyard or producer in Alsace, I do well on blind tastings.
However, I've been asked by my missus to run a wine tasting evening for her friends. They know SFA about wine, but want to have some knowledge around a wine list and pick something that they know they'll like.
My initial thought was to do a new world vs europe comparison or I could do something like 'finding the bargains' i.e. looking at some of the better rioja crianzas, finding good minervois, montepulciano d'abruzzo etc etc If I did NW vs Europe, I could do Oz chardonnay vs chablis, Kiwi pinot noir vs burgundy, nz sauv blanc vs sancerre, chilean merlot vz merlot heavy bordeaux etc etc.
So, good people of PH, over to the floor. What would YOU do?
However, I've been asked by my missus to run a wine tasting evening for her friends. They know SFA about wine, but want to have some knowledge around a wine list and pick something that they know they'll like.
My initial thought was to do a new world vs europe comparison or I could do something like 'finding the bargains' i.e. looking at some of the better rioja crianzas, finding good minervois, montepulciano d'abruzzo etc etc If I did NW vs Europe, I could do Oz chardonnay vs chablis, Kiwi pinot noir vs burgundy, nz sauv blanc vs sancerre, chilean merlot vz merlot heavy bordeaux etc etc.
So, good people of PH, over to the floor. What would YOU do?
Want to do this myself in the not too distant future.
I'd limit it to 6 wines, max.
Have some food and water on hand to clear the palate.
Try and have some grape / region specific info for people to read before you taste.
New world vs old is always good.
If you can manage, sometimes a vertical tasting is also fun, although getting 2-3 vintages of the same wine can sometimes be difficult or pricey, or both.
Other options include possibly a first vs second growth or a first vs second wine. Price and availablity notwithstanding.
I'd limit it to 6 wines, max.
Have some food and water on hand to clear the palate.
Try and have some grape / region specific info for people to read before you taste.
New world vs old is always good.
If you can manage, sometimes a vertical tasting is also fun, although getting 2-3 vintages of the same wine can sometimes be difficult or pricey, or both.
Other options include possibly a first vs second growth or a first vs second wine. Price and availablity notwithstanding.
As Drew says, 6 wines max.
However I'd have a white wine session first, and if they enjoy that, a red.
Personally for a complete novice I'd stick to a selection of the different grape varieties and try to highlight the differences between them: oaked / unoaked chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, gewurztraminer, pinot gris etc should be enough to be going on with.
Most restaurant wine lists nowadays help you out by stating the principal grape variety rather than assuming you know which wines contain which grapes, hence I think an appreciation of the main varieties / styles would be more useful than, say, 'Sancerre' v. 'Burgundy'.
However I'd have a white wine session first, and if they enjoy that, a red.
Personally for a complete novice I'd stick to a selection of the different grape varieties and try to highlight the differences between them: oaked / unoaked chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, gewurztraminer, pinot gris etc should be enough to be going on with.
Most restaurant wine lists nowadays help you out by stating the principal grape variety rather than assuming you know which wines contain which grapes, hence I think an appreciation of the main varieties / styles would be more useful than, say, 'Sancerre' v. 'Burgundy'.
I went to a wine tasting at Malmaison a couple of years ago run by their wine guy.
His theme was unusual wines for whatever reason, so perhaps not you would want to cover, but he started with a English fizz (Balfour), then an Austrian (Gruner Veltliner), an organic French Pinot Blanc, and an Italian Soave. He then moved onto reds and covered a Pinot Nero from Italy, a French red (can't recall what) and finished with a Portugese red. They got progressively more punchy (the Portugese red was from a place that made port and it showed in the red - was lovely stuff though).
A little bit of everything rather than a direct comparison of new world v Old, and let people try things that they probably wouldn't do in normal day to day life. I got a lot of out of it, he tells a good story about the history of the vineyards and the growers, most of which you could get from the net. One thing was that the wines were all very good quality stuff (10-30 quid a bottle) and it showed.
Have plenty of glasses (borrow some from Oddbins would be my suggestion) and maybe some details printed of what they are drinking so people can take them away with them and try them again at home if they like them.
I guess one thing would be to make sure you give them stuff you like as well!
His theme was unusual wines for whatever reason, so perhaps not you would want to cover, but he started with a English fizz (Balfour), then an Austrian (Gruner Veltliner), an organic French Pinot Blanc, and an Italian Soave. He then moved onto reds and covered a Pinot Nero from Italy, a French red (can't recall what) and finished with a Portugese red. They got progressively more punchy (the Portugese red was from a place that made port and it showed in the red - was lovely stuff though).
A little bit of everything rather than a direct comparison of new world v Old, and let people try things that they probably wouldn't do in normal day to day life. I got a lot of out of it, he tells a good story about the history of the vineyards and the growers, most of which you could get from the net. One thing was that the wines were all very good quality stuff (10-30 quid a bottle) and it showed.
Have plenty of glasses (borrow some from Oddbins would be my suggestion) and maybe some details printed of what they are drinking so people can take them away with them and try them again at home if they like them.
I guess one thing would be to make sure you give them stuff you like as well!
Mobile Chicane said:
As Drew says, 6 wines max.
However I'd have a white wine session first, and if they enjoy that, a red.
Personally for a complete novice I'd stick to a selection of the different grape varieties and try to highlight the differences between them: oaked / unoaked chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, gewurztraminer, pinot gris etc should be enough to be going on with.
Most restaurant wine lists nowadays help you out by stating the principal grape variety rather than assuming you know which wines contain which grapes, hence I think an appreciation of the main varieties / styles would be more useful than, say, 'Sancerre' v. 'Burgundy'.
That's not a bad idea. I want to keep it simple for them, but also open their eyes up away from the bog standard oz cab sauv/shiraz, merlot, oz chard, Hardy's middle of the road stuff.However I'd have a white wine session first, and if they enjoy that, a red.
Personally for a complete novice I'd stick to a selection of the different grape varieties and try to highlight the differences between them: oaked / unoaked chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, riesling, gewurztraminer, pinot gris etc should be enough to be going on with.
Most restaurant wine lists nowadays help you out by stating the principal grape variety rather than assuming you know which wines contain which grapes, hence I think an appreciation of the main varieties / styles would be more useful than, say, 'Sancerre' v. 'Burgundy'.
OK. White wine session.
This should help you along
http://www.thewinedoctor.com/advisory/tasteclassic...
This should help you along
http://www.thewinedoctor.com/advisory/tasteclassic...
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