By Debbie Trenholm, Accredited Sommelier and owner of Savvy Company www.savvycompany.caWine tasting may seem intimidating, but there are so many resources available to the wine novice now that it’s easy to plan an evening of wine in the comfort of your own home. Wine events can be a fun and interactive exploration into the world of wine, and there’s no need to feel like you’re smelling or tasting the wrong thing – it’s whatever you experience! Here is a step-by-step guide to hosting a wine tasting for clients, employees or friends.Step 1 – PLANNING YOUR WINE TASTINGFormat Depending on how formal and structured you would like the experience, a wine tasting can be conducted in a classroom style format with rows of wine glasses awaiting to be sampled, or as simple as a cocktail style event where your guests sip wines and nibble hors d’oeuvres at food and wine stations. For a unique and memorable evening, host a Sommelier led dinner where each course is paired with wines that enhance the flavours of each dish.ThemeYour wine tasting event can focus on exploring wines of a certain country or region or examine one type of wine such as Pinot Noirs, Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnays from various wine regions around the world.Wine Selection Greet your guests with a glass of sparkling wine as this kicks off your event with a party feeling. The bubbly cleanses and refreshes your palette, preparing it for more delicious wines and food to come.Feature six to eight wines as too many wines will ‘numb’ your palette. Each sampling of wine should be approximately two ounces (about one inch in an ISO wine tasting glass…more about glasses below). This equates to serving 10 people per bottle of wine.FoodWine was meant to be enjoyed with food. At a minimum, offer your guests sliced baguettes and saltine crackers to cleanse their palettes between wines. By offering an assortment of hard, soft and blue veined cheeses, your guests can experience how food can change the taste of wine. For an enhanced wine and food experience, pair each wine with an hors d’oeuvres. If you are hosting a wine tasting during a meal, restaurant and hotel chefs will create a special table d’hôte menu showcasing their culinary talent.“The food and wine scene in Ottawa is hot! Novotel Ottawa have monthly Sommelier led dinners that quickly sell out. Corporate clients often use the restaurant or our function rooms for wine tastings as a social event for conferences or spousal programs. As a chef, these wine and food events allow me to be creative with ingredients to develop special menus that will play with the flavours of different wines.” – Scott Lucas, Executive Chef, Novotel Ottawa and TRIO Restaurant.Hire a SommelierProfessional Sommeliers can arrange all the details and will to lead your wine tasting. This takes the pressure off you as the event organizer, as the Sommelier is well versed in themes, wines, food pairing and sourcing the equipment to make your wine tasting event receive rave reviews.“We have found that wine tastings appeal to our clients and results in great turn outs. Having Sommeliers interacting with the guests allows my team to network and socialize.” – Joe Jefferies, Director Financial Services, ScotiaMcLeodTools of the trade ISO wine tasting glasses: These tulip shaped glasses allow you to easily swirl 2 ounces of wine and the narrow rim captures the aromas. For a formal tasting, three glasses are needed per person, or a casual cocktail style event requires one glass per person. A wine tasting dinner should have a glass for each wine served. White tablecloth: used as a white background to judge the colour of the wines Water: for rinsing the glasses and refreshing your palette in between wines Spitoon or bucket: used to empty unwanted wine and rinsing water.Don’t forget the corkscrew!Step 2 – LET’S TASTE Wine tasting engages all of your senses. It is as easy as eyes, nose and mouth, taking note of the aromas, the flavours and the mouth feel of the wine. There are no rules to wine tasting as everyone’s impression is personal and this makes for interesting conversation. Use the following as your wine tasting sheet.Let’s taste a wine together… Pour approximately two ounces into your wine glass.EyesTilt the glass 45 degrees away from you, using the white tablecloth as a backdrop, note:• the colour and clarity. • What colour does it remind you of:• White wine descriptors – pale, straw, or golden• Rosés – cotton candy pink, salmon, terracotta• Reds – garnet, fire engine red, cherry, purple, ink or opaqueNoseLet the fun begin. Hold the glass by the stem, swirl the wine in a steady circlular motion to introduce air into the wine to release the aromas. • What does the wine smell like? • White wines – dry, floral, citrus, tropical fruit, pineapple, pears, apples• Rosés – floral, cherry, delicate, pink grapefruit• Reds – cherry, strawberry, blackberry, earthy, vanilla, leather, dried fruitMouthTake a sip, chew the wine (as if it were mouthwash) to coat your entire mouth. Take note:• Is the wine light, medium or full bodied?• Does the wine taste the same as it smells? • Do the flavours linger or disappear?Try each wine with food and note how the food changes your enjoyment of the wine.Step 3 - DISCOVERYAfter an evening of swirling, sipping and perhaps spitting, it is no wonder that a wine tasting is a fun way to explore the world of wines as well as socializing with friends and networking with clients. After all there is this new buzz in Ottawa and you can be a part of the wine scene.Cheers!Debbie Trenholm is an Accredited Sommelier and the founder of Savvy Company - an award winning company that hosts winemaker's dinners, Sommelier wine tastings, wine tours for private and corporate clients as well as hosting the largest wine of the month club in Ontario. To receive invitations to upcoming events, or to have Savvy Company host your company’s next event, contact debbie@savvycompany.ca or 613-SAVVYCO (728-8926).
