Spring is upon us! As we reach the beginning of tourism season, the tasting rooms will become more and more packed. Some tasters will be aficionados and know what they’re looking for in a wine. Others will be novices and not comfortable in their knowledge of wine.
Here are a few tips to make your experience in the tasting room a pleasant one.
1. Keep an open mind.
If you only like “sweet” wine and refuse to drink anything else, you’re going to have a tough time at a lot of wineries. Same goes for saying that you loathe a particular varietal. Do we all have our favorites? Of course. But keeping an open mind really helps when you’re at a winery.
2. Pace yourself.
You don’t want to show up at a winery inebriated. The spit buckets are there for a reason…utilize them! Also, if you pace yourself, you won’t burn yourself out. Tasting at more than four or five locations in a day leads to palate burnout. Plus, if you’re not spitting, you’re drinking the equivalent of a glass of wine at each location.
3. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
Think you’ve drank enough water? Drink some more. Remember, pros hydrate…and so should you.
4. Don’t feel obligated to purchase.
If there is something that you enjoy, then go ahead and purchase it! However, if there is something that you haven’t enjoyed, or you aren’t sure, don’t feel obligated to settle for something you were “meh” on.
5. Have fun!
The most important thing when on a wine tasting excursion is to have fun.
I wouldn’t have thought that hydrating would be an important thing to remember if you’re wine tasting. But I’ve never done it before, and I guess I’m looking for tips, so knowing about it is a good thing. Having fun usually is a good way to go into anything though! Thanks for the advice!