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| Don’t drink too much of one wine. Mix up your tasting pattern to include wine you normally do not buy. Napa is a place to experiment with new wines and different wineries. |
The Etiquette of Wine Tasting
Picture this scenario in any four-star restaurant. You and your party of six are seated at your table and the waiter passes out the menus. He then deposits the wine list in your hands. The list looks like a telephone book from Chicago. When you open it, total confusion rears its head. Where do you start? What goes with the dinner you and your guests are going to have tonight? What wine goes with fish and beef?
Here are your choices:
- Panic
- Fake it
- Ask for help
- Drink the house wine
- Promise yourself you will try to learn more about wine before this happens again
However you handle the choices of 1 through 4, option 5 can be satisfied at Napa Valley.
IS THERE AN ART TO WINE TASTING?
The simple answer to this question is no, but here are some recommendations on how to make your tasting more fun and memorable. Evan Goldstein, director of the Sterling Vineyards School of Service and Hospitality, offers these suggestions:
1. Don't drink too much of one wine. Mix up your tasting pattern to include wine you normally do not buy. Napa is a place to experiment with new wines and different wineries.
2. Experiment by tasting different foods with one wine. This will help you explore how different wines and foods mix, complement or contrast each other.
3. Ask the winery personnel questions about the wines they are pouring. These trained personnel can give you great tips how their wine is priced, what foods it is best paired with, and what characteristics are common in the winery’s other wines.
4. Compare two different wineries on the same wine at the same time (Pinot Noir vs. Pinor Noir). This direct comparison tasting shows you the differences in winemaking styles. Sometimes it's subtle and sometimes it's dramatic.
5. Take simple notes on what you tasted. Finding great wines at Napa Valley is easy, trying to remember them may be more difficult. With your simple notes you can purchase these wines with confidence in a restaurant or in the grocery store. – From an article for the Napa Valley Register, 1992
IS THERE AN ART TO WINE TASTING?
The simple answer to this question is no, but here are some recommendations on how to make your tasting more fun and memorable. Evan Goldstein, director of the Sterling Vineyards School of Service and Hospitality, offers these suggestions:
1. Don't drink too much of one wine. Mix up your tasting pattern to include wine you normally do not buy. Napa is a place to experiment with new wines and different wineries.
2. Experiment by tasting different foods with one wine. This will help you explore how different wines and foods mix, complement or contrast each other.
3. Ask the winery personnel questions about the wines they are pouring. These trained personnel can give you great tips how their wine is priced, what foods it is best paired with, and what characteristics are common in the winery’s other wines.
4. Compare two different wineries on the same wine at the same time (Pinot Noir vs. Pinor Noir). This direct comparison tasting shows you the differences in winemaking styles. Sometimes it's subtle and sometimes it's dramatic.
5. Take simple notes on what you tasted. Finding great wines at Napa Valley is easy, trying to remember them may be more difficult. With your simple notes you can purchase these wines with confidence in a restaurant or in the grocery store. – From an article for the Napa Valley Register, 1992
🍽️Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia
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