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Wine Tasting: I paid my $30. Now what?

by Mike Supple
published: 30 Jul 2008       | Comments

Going to large public wine tastings is the best way to spend very little money and try hundreds (or at least dozens) of wines you've never heard of. Suddenly entering a room full of people and more wine than you've ever seen can be a bit daunting, but there are a few easy things you can do to get the most out of it.

If you prefer your information condensed, here is a sentence that sums the whole thing up: get there early; go for the expensive stuff first and the types of wines you generally prefer second; stay away from wineries you know; don't be afraid to elbow your way in to a table.

Before you leave the house, make sure you are not wearing perfume, scented lotions, or overly fragrant deodorant. Even though you may get used to these smells after a few minutes, they will mess with your ability to smell wines, and it will piss off anyone tasting wine next to you.

Arriving at a tasting when the doors open is very important because the later it gets the more crowded, drunker, and ruder people get. This is fine if you have a good wine glow on too, but coming in to this situation as sober as judge is not particularly amusing.

Most tastings try to make effective use of space and are all essentially one giant room with a table for each winery. You walk around and try what you want. A little research during the first five minutes you're there will pay off because there is usually some general method to the madness - wines are often arranged by world region, style or alphabetically by winery. Knowing how they do it will help you find what you're looking for faster.

I recommend trying mostly things that you've never seen or heard of. Lots of people go for the familiar wineries they know and drink all the time at home so they can meet the representative from the winery (or sometimes the actual winemaker) and tell them how great their wine is. Winemakers (and particularly random representatives from the wineries) don't give a crap what 3,000 drunk people at a big event think of their wine. They already know they make good wine.

Go for the Champagne first. It is usually among the most expensive stuff there and it runs out the fastest. More importantly for tasting though, the relatively high acid level of sparkling wines gets your saliva going and your taste buds warmed up for the onslaught of wines.

Burgundy is something you should try regardless of the vintage. This is the way to get the most bang for your buck, because Burgundy is good and very expensive. Drink anything that says "1er Cru" or "Grand Cru"; this goes for reds (Pinot Noir) and whites (Chardonnay).

A side note that is relatively important: at each table the wineries will try to get you to taste through their whole lineup, starting with the crap and ending with the expensive stuff. They don't like people that just go for the expensive stuff. But it's your money and you're never going to see them again, so who cares what they want? While you're waiting for the people in front of you to be done, watch where the winery representative starts pouring and where he ends up (usually from your left to right) and just ask for the specific good ones.

As you move from wine to wine, try to never rinse your glass out with water; rinsing will dilute the next wine that you taste. If you go from white to white or red to red, just dump (or drink) as much out of the glass as you can and get the next wine. The tiny remaining drops in your glass won't make enough difference to affect your next taste. You will probably want to rinse when you go from a red to a white wine. When I go from red to white, I ask for a quick rinse with the white that I'm about to taste. Most of the people pouring are professionals and won't blink when you ask for this, as it is fairly accepted industry practice. They might even think you know what you're doing and give you a better pour.

Do not taste any sweet/dessert wines until the end, as it will ruin your glass and your ability to taste (due to high sugar and alcohol levels).

Don't be afraid to spit and dump wines. There should be buckets on each table or between each table specifically for this purpose. After all, wine does have alcohol, and alcohol numbs your taste buds. The more wines you spit and dump out, the more you'll be able to taste before your tongue gives up. You definitely will not insult anyone from a winery by dumping out their wines, so put that out of your mind immediately and don't be so self conscious. In my experience, Germans seem to be particularly good at spitting wines. I've seen some hit a bucket with perfect accuracy from several feet away (fortunately, as I was standing beside the bucket...).

Remember, people are sheep, and the most crowded tables aren't necessarily the best. Particularly when it comes to Napa, people go to the "famous" wineries. Famous does not necessarily mean good, and it does often mean expensive. In my book, not good plus low quality equals a waste of time.

After you hit the expensive stuff early, take a look around for the more esoteric wines. At big international tastings there will likely be a couple Hungarian or other Eastern European wines. These tables are unlikely to be crowded, so you can go try them out when you are sick of fighting with people. There are some killer wines coming from lesser known Eastern European countries. If there are any New York or other random states' wineries there, those are probably worth trying, but again, not until after you've hit the other good stuff. In terms of top quality wines besides California, look for Oregon and Washington. For Oregon, hit up their Pinot Noirs. Washington makes great Syrah and Merlot. (The Merlot in WA often has more body and tannin than their Cabernet.)

Have fun! And in case I didn't make this point clear enough...get there early!