Wednesday, February 22, 2012

[caption id="attachment_468" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo by: Colleen Lane"][/caption]
If you are interested in wine and are thinking about going to a wine tasting (or maybe your friend or partner wants to drag you to one), you may be a little nervous about what to expect or how to act. Maybe you’ve even been to one or two and still don’t really know what to do while you’re there. My best advice would be to just relax, have fun and be yourself. Wineries don’t really have the pretentious stereotype that many believe they have. For example, you are allowed to do the following things at a winery:


  • Pick up the glass and “just drink it”. There are no rules saying you have to stick your nose in it or swirl it around.

  • Say you don’t like wine

  • Say you don’t like a wine they just poured for you

  • Ask for water to rinse your mouth

  • Pour out a wine that you don’t like (they typically have dishes to pour out anything you don’t want to drink)

  • Allow your friend or partner to drink the wine you don’t like

  • Ask the question “do you have any bud light back there?”

  • Ask Questions--even if they sound dumb to you

  • Tell that joke you've been wanting to share

  • Ask for a tour of the place

  • Admit that you typically only drink wine from a box or you never drink it

  • Make friends with everyone that walks through the door


 
Things the person behind the counter would love to talk to you about.....if you’re interested:

  • Where the grapes are grown

  • What the weather was like during the growing season of each wine

  • What work has to go into tending the vines as they grow

  • What kind of barrel or tank was used with the wine and how long the wine stayed in it

  • When the winery was built

  • What it’s like to pick the grapes during harvest

  • The last vacation they went on, their kids, their dogs and anything else that comes up while you’re there

  • Many wineries will also give tours to show you their barrels or tanks and explain how they’re used to make the wine


 
We have gone to many wineries with people that drink wine and many with people that nearly refuse to drink it and we’ve all ended up having a blast! The good news is that after a full tasting, most people will find at least one that they could pour in a glass and sip with you on the porch or the lawn of the winery. The main idea is to go, try something new and have fun with your company.
 
We’ll be heading out to the Stanly County Winter Wine Festival this weekend which is more or less a big tent with a bunch of wineries in one place. It’s a great opportunity to try lots of different wines without the pressure of having to sit through a full tasting. So, if you or your friends are new to the wine tasting world, come out out and say hello to us while you’re there! We’ll be there all day.

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1 comment:

  1. [...] 5 S’s: Your Guide to a Simple and Easy Wine Tasting by anyolthing under Recipes In our last post about wine tastings we learned that you don’t have to be so nervous about them, but rather go and have a good time. [...]

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