Almost anywhere in this country nowadays you can find a wine tasting event offered to the public. It may be in a restaurant, wine shop, liquor store, winery or offered as a fundraising event. If you’re an avid wine drinker or just getting into wine these are excellent vehicles to exercise your palate. We all know that to get good at something takes practice and buying wine can be costly. So if the opportunity is available for you to attend a tasting whether it’s offered for free or for a fee, it’s well worth checking into. Remember that there is great wine coming from all over the globe these days, so don’t pass up a chance to taste something unusual or a grape variety that’s unfamiliar to you. That obscure wine might just be your favorite. If the tasting is set up well there will be water, a dump bucket and some sort of palate cleanser like water crackers or some bread. If you want to taste like the Pro’s than you will need to expectorate the wine. Of course you can always drink a few, but if your objective is to taste a large number of different wines than spitting is the way to go. Stumbling around in a drunken state while in attendance at any event is always quite embarrassing. Nowadays people taste wines in almost any order, but a traditional tasting is always a sure bet when faced with many different wines. Here’s a simple six step traditional tasting order.

1st – Sparkling ( Champagne, Cava or Prosecco ) extra dry to brut. Save sweet sparklers for the end.

2nd – Light to medium bodied whites ( Pinot Grigio, Dry Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc ).

3rd – Full bodied whites ( Chardonnay, Viognier ).

4th – Light to medium bodied reds ( Beaujolais, Pinot Noir ).

5th – Full bodied reds ( Cabernet Sauvignon, Barolo, Bordeaux )

6th – Desert wines ( Moscato d’ Asti, Port, Sticky, Sweet Sherry and Desert Riesling )

While in Burgundy last year I was fortunate to have a private tasting in the ancient cellars of Buchard Pere et Fils in Beaune. We tasted the reds before the whites and it worked out well. This was because the red wines of this area are less tannic. A week before I was tasting wines in Spain at Marques de Caseras and we tasted the whites before the reds. This also worked well because the reds were full-bodied in style. So the moral of the story is that you can travel around the world and people will taste wines in all different orders. My advice to you is to have fun at tasting’s and remember to spit if your tasting multiple wines. Start with the traditional order and as you progress mix it up a little.

Some great local tasting events to attend are being held this month and in May. Hope to see you at a tasting soon.

April 18th” Wines of Italy” with Grand Pere 6pm to 7:30pm at Westside Liquor, Baxter,MN
April 26th Tasting Extravaganza 5pm to 8pm Westside Liquor, Waite Park MN
April 28th 4th Annual Promenade “Central Minnesota’s Premiere Wine Tasting Event” St.Cloud Civic Center 5:30pm to 9:30pm
May 4th Boni Ball 7pm to 11pm at St.Boniface Church, Cold Spring
May 16th “Wines from Around the World” with Z Wines USA 6pm to 7:30pm at Westside Liquor Baxter, MN

Jeff Anderson
Sommelier