Themes for Wine Tasting Parties
Introduction
A central consideration in planning your wine tasting party is whether to have a theme or not. As our booklet, How to Host a Wine Tasting, points out, your party doesn't have to have a theme, but having one does give your event focus and enables your guests to more readily learn about wine and wine tasting.
The simplest theme might focus on wines you and your friends like best. Ask each guest to bring a favorite wine. Our first ventures into tasting parties were geared around such a theme, some 25 years ago when Susan was in graduate school and Towny had just started working. The tastings were usually blind. It was pure fun discovering new wines and learning which wines our friends preferred. There were always surprises.
We gradually adopted some parameters, and we would encourage you to do this, too. At minimum, suggest a price range and consider specifying red, white, or rosé. We are confident that as you learn more about wine and the wines you like, you will want to know more. Eventually, you will probably wish to specify a particular variety of grape or geographic region and perhaps a vintage because, as you learn more about the factors that contribute to a wine's distinctiveness, you will want to experience the effects of these factors.
There is no end to the possible themes you could use for a wine tasting. Think about the wines--either varieties or regions--that you know and love and how you would like to expand that knowledge. Specific occasions may suggest themes, too. Below are some suggestions. We hope they pique your curiosity.