Interested in trying the world-renowned wines of Napa Valley but aren’t able to travel to Napa? Napa Wine Tours is happy to assist with tips for hosting your own Napa Valley wine tasting party. Bring together some of your favorite people, and discover wines you haven’t tried before.
Supplies
You’ll need:
– Napa Valley wine
– one glass per guest
– a pitcher of water to rinse glasses between tastings
– a “dump bucket”
– pen and paper for each guest to take notes
– bread or crackers and water to cleanse the palate between tastings
– a CD with background music
You won’t need:
– to decorate with scented candles or flowers
Tasting Options
It’s your party, try anything you want to.
– Will you provide the wine or ask your guests to bring a bottle?
– If your guests will bring a bottle, consider asking them to bring a certain type of wine (sparkling, white, red, port)
– Maybe your wine tasting party will focus on the same type of wine produced by different wineries (for example, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon)
– Consider a “blind” tasting where no one is allowed to see the type of wine and the Napa Valley winery that created it until after each wine has been tasted
– Will you prepare a bite (appetizer, cheese, or chocolate) to pair with each wine or ask your guests to provide the perfect bite to pair with the wine they bring?
Tips
– Ask your guests to refrain from wearing cologne or perfume
– Each tasting pour should be 2 ounces (1/4 cup)
– Offer a maximum of 4 to 6 wines
– If you have a variety of wines, start with sparkling, whites, reds, then dessert wines and ports
– Start with your driest to sweetest wines
– Brut styles are the driest sparkling wines
– Move from lightest to heaviest wines
– Sauvignon Blanc is a dry, light wine compared to Chardonnay which is a drier, heavier wine
– Pinot Noir is a light dry wine, Merlot is a medium dry wine, and Cabernet Sauvignon is a heavy dry wine
Of course, nothing is better than experiencing Napa Valley wines in the beautiful Valley itself, especially when Napa Wine Tours can take care of everything for you.
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