You know about all the wine tasting rules. Right? Well, today, we’re going to break one of the most important rules, the order you taste the wines.
Why is this rule so important? The traditional tasting order helps make sure that you get the most out of every wine you drink. You don’t run the risk of dulling your palate or making a wine taste too acidic.
Why is it okay to break this rule? It’s wine, for goodness sakes. You’re allowed to have fun with wine. You’re allowed to break the rules.
What Are the Traditional Wine Tasting Rules?
Let’s start by reviewing the traditional wine tasting rules.
- Whites before reds
- Light body before heavy body
- Dry before sweet
- Young before old
- Enjoy fortified wine last
Why Would You Break the Rules?
Thanks to Netflix, we’re now in the mode where we want to watch what we want to watch when we want to watch it. You can apply that same approach to your wine. We want to drink what we want to drink when we want to drink it. Plain and simple. No questions asked.
There’s also the notion of using a white wine or perhaps a sparkling wine to cleanse your palate. You might have been drinking reds for quite a while. But you’re feeling weighed down on many levels. You realize that switching to a lighter wine right now will help you enjoy your evening more.
Give Me an Example of Rule Breaking
Somebody brought a very special Zinfandel to your house. They’ve been raving about it for weeks. You promised to feature thieir wine front and center at the start of the evening. So, you happily do that. You serve the Zin up with Zin-friendly foods like Gouda, Camembert and Provolone. If you want heavier dishes, you throw in pizza and perhaps lasagna.
When you introduce white wines to the mix, you encourage people to drink whatever they want, and you suggest that, when they switch from one wine to another, whether that be to a white or to a different red, they eat water crackers to help cleanse their palate.
Something I do quite often is I put all the dinner wines out at once and walk people through the traditional tasting order but encourage them to choose whatever order they want. Often times, you have people who only drink white or only drink red. So, having all the wines on the table at once is a great way to accommodate these folks.
Final Word
Whether you follow the traditional tasting order or a more creative order, you’ll definitely want to follow my one universal rule: Drink what you like with food you like, and have fun with wine!
As an independent wine consultant with WineShop At Home, I love bringing the taste of Napa Valley to you and your friends one sip at a time. Whether you want to buy some bottles, host a tasting or perhaps join me as a wine consultant, I would welcome you with open arms. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you’d like to have some more fun with wine.
Cheers!
As an independent wine consultant with WineShop At Home, I absolutely enjoy bringing a taste of the Napa wine country home to you one sip at a time. Whether you simply love to drink wine, seek a special personalized wine gift, or are in search of a new wine jobs opportunity as a wine consultant, feel free to contact me for a truly unique wine tasting experience!
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2 comments
Sometimes wine can be looked at like music, it’s a subjective experience. Some artists you may like, others not so much. Very similar to wine. some varietals blow you away and others you have to spit out. When you get to the nuances of a tasting, and the accompanying food and appetizers being served with the different wines, some decorum should be followed if bringing out subtleties in either the wine or the food is the goal(which it should be)! Example: My family and I were enjoying dinner at The World Trade Center’s Windows on the World, 6 weeks before the towers fell. For dessert the waiter suggested a pairing of a New York Vidal ice wine with some house made pistachio ice cream. The pairing was nothing short of genius! It was a very teachable moment that I will never forget. Sometimes rules can be broken if they are broken in an intelligent way that make us think outside the box.
That Windows of the World dessert sounds phenomenal. I’m so sorry that I never got to try that amazing restaurant.