Well, it depends on a few factors. You'll need to decide ahead of time what wines you are going to taste. A lot of my favorite tastings have included all sorts of wine, from the typical cabernet sav, merlot, chardonnay-- to a more unique malbec, a blended wine (amon ra's petit sirah/merlot/grenache comes to mind), or a wine from a special region (a Gwertz from Alsace, a Rioja from Spain, a Gruner Veltliner from Austria, a Savignon Blanc from New Zealand). Also, including a local wine or wine from the home state is often a fun addittion.

Open minded guests help. Be prepared to receive the occasional snob, but a more private party will usually curb that sort of thing.

Provide apertiefs. There are amazing parings available. Provide some cheeses for your guests to experiment with. Cheese like brie, manchego, dry jack, and heavier (read "veined") cheeses are also unique and really add to the excitement of a fuller bodied wine such as Barolo, or a new world Cab. I know it is taboo in some circles, but chocolate, caramel, and fruits also provide some unique flavor mixers. One pairing always worth trying: Sauternes with brie.... it's an ultimate pair.

Provide glasses, make sure they are tulip shaped or balloon shaped to help condense the bouquet.

If you can afford it, buy a few bottles of each wine and taste them yourself beforehand. Take some notes of the flavors and smells. Relay your opinions to your guests and ask them if they taste or smell the same thing! This is especially nice if there are any people new to the tasting scene or are simply a bit more shy.

Spitting is okay, encourage it if there is a lot of wine to be sipped. Plan on getting a coupel buckets if you decide to have spitting. However, with fewer bottles, it's just as fine to swallow.

The order of tasting is important because sipping a nice, delicate white after a brawny red can have some bad results. Try this: Sparkling wine, delicate whites (pino grigio), heavy whites (chardonnay), lighter reds (pino noir, beaujoulais), darker reds (merlot, cabernet), super reds (barolo, new age cabs), desert wines (reisling, sauternes). Cool thing about this order is you start with a sparkling wine! This definitely gets everyone in the right mood! I recommend CAVA (it's a type of champagne like wine from Catalunya) which is very inexpensive and a HUGE value considering the quality.

Happy sipping!

Jordan

Open minded guests help. Be prepared to receive the occasional snob, but a more private party will usually curb that sort of thing.

Provide glasses, make sure they are tulip shaped or balloon shaped to help condense the bouquet.

Spitting is okay, encourage it if there is a lot of wine to be sipped. Plan on getting a coupel buckets if you decide to have spitting. However, with fewer bottles, it's just as fine to swallow.

Happy sipping!

Jordan

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