Wine-tasting is growing as a social activity with regular events held
not only at wineries, but in shops, high-end grocery stores
and even college classrooms. Part of the fun is discovery.
Nevertheless, discovering that your spitting technique just
offended half of the people in the tasting room can take
some of the joy out of the experience. Knowing what you're
getting into before you arrive at a tasting can help you
focus on the wine, not on your manners.
Who's behind the bar?
When you arrive at a tasting room, a staff member should
greet you, set up some glasses and tell you about the wines
that are available that day. "The first thing people need to
know is the staff is there to be helpful and educational,
not to be snooty," says Craig Root, a tasting-room
consultant based in St. Helena, Calif. Don't be afraid to
ask questions about the wines or to bring a pad and pencil
and make some notes, says Sharyl Admire, guest-services
trainer at Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in Washington
state.
In fact, says Dieter Schafer, a wine educator and
sommelier based in Seattle, you may enjoy the tasting more
if you have an idea of what you like and can describe it
before you begin. If you don't see what you want on the
tasting list, he says, it's perfectly acceptable to ask for
the type of wine you're most interested in.
What comes first?
You will usually taste from light to heavy and from dry to
sweet — that is, you'll have white wines, then reds, then
dessert wines. For your palate's sake, Root advises, follow
the staff's suggestions when it comes to the order of the
wines you taste. "It's like drinking orange juice after you
brush your teeth," he explains. "Some wines don't follow
others well."
There's no rule stating that you must taste each wine
you're offered — you can pass on any that don't appeal to
you. It's also OK not to finish your wine. Most tasting
rooms will have "dump buckets" placed not far from your
elbow. You can take a sip, savor it and discreetly pour the
remains into the container.
Dumping out leftover wine is not rude, but here are two
behaviors that are: When the pourer is busy with other
people, do not take it upon yourself to refill your glass.
This is not only bad manners; in some states it is illegal.
And don't take a sip and loudly proclaim your negative
opinion. "You can say something like, 'This wine is not to
my taste,'" says Schafer. That will help the pourer decide
what kind of wine you might enjoy more.
Can we share?
Some tasting rooms charge a fee, which may buy a glass or
apply toward the purchase of a bottle. At other tasting
rooms, the sampling is free. Either way, it's all right to
share your sip with someone else. This not only saves money,
it can help you avoid becoming too tipsy to taste. You can
ask for a second taste of something you really like, says
Root, but it's best to do that only if you're seriously
interested in buying the wine.
What's with the spitting and slurping?
After you've savored the flavor of your wine, it's
acceptable to eject it in a more direct way. In Root’s and
Admire's experiences, it's the rare taster who spits. Still,
if you plan to taste several wines, either spitting or
taking just a tiny taste will help your ability to assess
flavors as the tasting progresses, not to mention navigate
your way home safely.
Spitting, however, is not as easy as it sounds. "If
you're going to spit," says Admire, who has seen some
dribbling in her day, "spit like you mean it." Never use the
dump bucket, since this could result in an unpleasant
backlash from both the bucket and the people around you. Ask
for a disposable spit cup. And, Schafer advises, consider
first practicing at home in front of the mirror. Alone.
Slurping and swishing are a bit more controversial. Root
is against loud displays of gurgling; Admire says making
some noise is acceptable and even encouraged. Schafer comes
down in the middle, advocating gentle swishing to allow the
wine full access to the taste buds on your tongue.
What about personal hygiene?
Don't wear perfume or cologne or use lotions with strong
fragrances when attending a tasting. The scents interfere
not only with your senses of smell and taste, but also with
those of the people around you. Toning down your lipstick,
says Schafer, will lessen your chances of leaving a rim
smudge that brings to mind Liz Taylor in Butterfield 8.
Don't smoke in the tasting room or outside the door. In
fact, Schafer says, if you're a smoker, try to leave about
20 minutes between your last cigarette and your first taste
of wine. This will help clear your palate and dissipate any
tobacco odors that might bother others.
Remember, this is a tasting room, not a fraternity kegger:
no rowdy behavior, and no trashing the grounds outside. If
you are planning to picnic at a winery, says Root, it is bad
form to drink wine from another vintner — or worse yet, beer
— while enjoying the table of your host.
Must we buy?
This is perhaps the trickiest question. The simple answer,
as Admire says, is "absolutely not." But if you've just
thoroughly enjoyed six or seven healthy tastes, there is an
expectation that you're interested in purchasing the
product. As Schafer says, "Everyone wants to sell their
wines."
Kathleen Donnelly, formerly an editor at WebMD and
feature writer at the San Jose Mercury News, writes about
food, nutrition and health from her home in Seattle.
