3 Ghastly Mistakes To Avoid If You Are Hosting A Wine Tasting Event

So, you've invited a group of friends over, every one is bringing a bottle and you want to make sure your wine tasting event occurs without any 'flaws.'  Below are a few mistakes to avoid if you are hosting a wine tasting event to ensure you get a 'Gold Medal!'

Dirty glassware can cause your wine tasting event to go from 'Brilliant' to 'Dull.'. Here are a few tips to ensure clean glasses:

• Don't just pull the glasses from your cabinet or a box - they will have a stale, cardboard smell.
• Don't wash your glasses with soapy water - this can leave a film.
• Never use a paper towel to dry your glasses - this will leave an 'off' odor in the glass (and lint!).
• Rinse your glasses with warm water and gently dry by hand with a polishing cloth.

 

How can you identify what's in the glass with distracting smells all around you?. Here's a couple of ideas to keep your wine tasting area odor-free:

• Do not burn any candles or have plug-in air fresheners in the room.
• Ask your guests (and you!) to refrain from wearing perfume, cologne, after-shave or other scented personal products.
• Do not use chemicals or scented cleaning products on the table where you will be tasting.
• And NO SMOKING!

While some like 'hot' tea or 'iced' coffee, seldom do they like 'warm' white wine or 'too cold' red wine.. Some helpful information on correct temperatures to serve wine:

• Champagne and Sparkling wines: 41-45 degrees F
• Lighter, more delicate whites: 45-50 degrees F; Heavier white wines: 50-55 degrees F.
• Lighter style reds: 55-59 degrees F; Full-bodied reds: 59-64 degrees F
• It is easier to 'warm' a wine by cupping the glass in your hands than it is to 'chill' the wine by diluting it with ice cubes (gasp!).

That's it for the tips. I hope you've found them helpful.  Remember, wine tasting should be an enjoyable experience and hopefully this advice will help you in preparing your own event!
 

New Year's Resolutions...

Ah...here it is the middle of January and how many of you have actually stuck to the goals you set out for yourself just a few short weeks ago?!?  Well, if it's any encouragement to any of you who have, but may be struggling a little bit to keep on task (or those that want to make a second attempt while it's still the first month of the year...), I hope that I can offer you some inspiration along the way.

You see, one of my goals this year is to learn more about wine.  Sounds crazy coming from someone who claims to be a wine professional, right?  But we all need to fine tune our skills along the way to stay on top of our game.  A little bit of continuing education can go a long way.  Think about doctors and teachers who need to stay current in their fields of work.  The same is true in the wine business.  You wouldn't believe how many new regions there are in the past five regions, along with old regions that have changed their laws, and all the new winemaking practices that are out there. 

But I am up for the challenge - literally.  Every day at 6 am to get my day started by studying the latest and greatest about what's new in the wine world.  I realize that in achieving one's goals, first you need to write it down.  When you put something on paper, you can take the emotion out of the situation.  Second, you need to have a time frame in two senses - mapping out when you will achieve this goal (this will be on-going for me) and blocking out time in the day for it.  Then, you need to tell the important people in your life about it.  It's one thing to disappoint yourself if you don't meet your challenge, it's another to have to share that with everyone you told about it in the first place.  Next, monitor your activities and results to adjust as necessary.  Seems easy enough, right?

So, I have my goal, I'm telling you people about it and besides my personal desire to do this, I need to find motivation through other means.  Where do I find that?  In many ways - writings from Master Sommeliers about their journey to achieve their status, wine tasting with peers, people that hire me for my wine services, etc.  But a big motivating factor that keeps me in line is by motivating others around me to stay in touch with their goals - whether it be to gain more clients, get in better shape or do more for the world.  It also comes from people like you who instead of saying, "I should have done that" are having it said about you!  Make it happen, whatever that may be.