Dr. David Muhleman

The-Wine-Educator    WINE & SPIRITS EDUCATION AND CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE CONSUMER AND THE PROFESSIONAL

WINE TASTING ETIQUETTE

We live in a very exciting time if you enjoy tasting wine. Most of our cities and towns have weekly wine tastings and many restaurants have wine tasting every day of the week. We even have internet websites which show us wine events in most cities across America. But what we don't have, is someone to explain wine tasting etiquette.

Most of us grew up with our mothers teaching us how to hold a fork, and not to chew with our mouths open, and how not to fill our cheeks with the yummy appetizers at a fancy party. But no one taught us wine tasting etiquette.  Like most suggestions on proper manners, some will ignore this article and you will know who they are at your next wine tasting event.

First, the glass and the pour.  Glass manufacturers go to great expense to put stems on their glasses; that's so you can hold the glass by the stem and not the bowl of the glass. I can go into lots of reasons for holding the glass by the stem, but just believe me...it's proper etiquette. And the amount of wine is a "tasting" not a "glass of wine", so an ounce is proper, but if you are buying a "tasting" up to three ounces is okay.

Asking the wine pourer to "hit you again" or "give me a double" should be reserved for your favorite bartender and not proper wine tasting etiquette. Likewise, less than an ounce makes it really hard to judge a wine.

Second. You need to remember the purpose of wine tasting events. It is NOT (contrary to some people's opinion) the cheapest Happy Hour in town. Although the purpose of wine tasting does contain a social element; the real purpose of a wine tasting is to TASTE wine. And you TASTE wine for several reasons. Personally, I taste wines to learn about new wines, and to help develop a wine tasting profile. A wine profile is when you taste a variety of wines so you can start to predict, or understand, what a wine will taste like when you read a wine label. For example, you begin to know what a Russian River Zin from 2004 is PROBABLY going to taste like. This allows you to choose wines based on your wine profile.

Another example is McDonalds. After tasting a McDonalds hamburger enough times you know what to expect; or Burger King, or Wendy's. The same is true with wine. Once you have developed a wine profile you can read a label and know what you are going to get in the bottle. Most people taste wines to see if they like them and whether they want to buy a bottle or two, which is the primary reason for the wine distributor to hold a wine tasting: to sell wine. Which is a very important point.

Wine merchants hold wine tastings to sell wine. If you want the wine merchants to continue holding wine tastings, I encourage you to buy a bottle or two. If no one buys the wine, pretty soon the wine tastings go away.  Sometimes they "sweeten the pot" by giving a deep discount on the featured wines. So you get to taste the wine before you buy AND get a great discount! Life is good!

Third. The purpose for "snacks" at a wine tasting is NOT a substitute for dinner (much to some people's surprise). Wine tasting etiquette says the food at a wine tasting is to give the taster the opportunity to try the wine with food. Most wines in the world are made to go with food; only a small number of wines are better on their own. So the food provided at wine tasting is to give the taster an idea of how the wine will change with food. Food at wine tasting is also a chance to give your taste buds (palate) a little break between wines. Tasting too many wines with nothing in between can cause the taster an "overload" of tastes, and an unrepresentative taste of the wine.

Fourth. Quite honestly, the only person who really cares about your opinion of the wines tasted; is you. So it's very poor etiquette to share your opinion of the wines unless asked. Just as it's poor form to leave a movie theater and tell others your opinion, or a restaurant and give your opinion; everyone has their own opinion of the wine. You may like something which I don't, and I may like something you don't. And I may want the wine in a totally different situation than you do. So it's poor etiquette to loudly proclaim your approval (or disapproval) of a particular wine unless the wine is faulted (bad). All wines are the right wine in the right situation. People who share their opinion of wines at a wine tasting are forgetting other people like other things.

Finally, wine tastings are about learning about wine value. We all expect $100 wines to taste really good. And many of us have low expectations about wine that costs less than $4.99. What we all want is to find a wine that costs $9.99 and tastes like a $50.00 wine. Wine tastings give us an opportunity to find those rare treasures ... and it does happen. And when it does happen, I encourage you to buy a case (that night).

One of the advantages of a retailer wine tasting is that your wine advisor tastes hundreds of wines and can recommend wines that taste better than they cost. So remember, wine tastings are a great opportunity to learn about wines, taste wines which you may never have had a chance to taste, and finally to find real wine bargains.

So, next time you visit a wine tasting look around, and remember: hold the glass by the stem, remember the reasons you are there tasting the wine, and when you find a wine you like buy it when you can.

Until next month, enjoy good wine.

David's Rule of Thumb

Drink what you like. Every "Rule of Thumb" has exceptions to the Rule, but 99% of the time, you should drink what you like. Far too much has been made of "red wine with meat and white wine with fish." Phooey! That's a marketing ploy and has very little to do with food/wine pairing. Now, you shouldn't overpower the wine with the food or the food with the wine. Just like you wouldn't (normally) put catsup on scallops (you lose the flavor of the scallop), you shouldn't serve a vino verde with Kansas City Bar-B-Que. But generally, if you like White Zin, drink White Zin (just drink a good one). And if people roll their eyes...they're being wine snobs and ignore them. If you like Pinot Noir or Riesling, or Cab Franc, drink what you like. We all like different things so don't let others influence what you like (or don't like).