White Wine Tasting Party Set-Up

Invest in a nice set of white wine glasses for this tasting. You don't have to offer a new glass specific to the varietal for each pour. (The varied wine glass bowls and rim widths can make your head spin when shopping for high-end glasses.) My personal favorite is Riedel's Chablis glass, around $20 each. I find it to be a nice reasonable size for tasting white wine, plus I really like the lightweight of the vessel and the feel of its expertly crafted sheer rim as it rests on my lips; perfectly perched for a sip.

• Choose 4 - 6 wines for this tasting, such as the ones suggested in 5 White Wines for a Tasting.
• Decide the order in which the wine will be tasted, most usually start with a light-bodied or dry wine and progress to fuller bodied, sweeter wines.
• Line up the bottles in their tasting order, right to left or vice versa, along the backside of the table. By backside, I mean where the host or wine pourer would stand.
• Place a wine glass for each guest along the front side on the table.
• Place a pitcher of purified water and a discard bucket, such as an ice bucket, on the table for guests to sip or use the water to rinse their glasses before trying a new wine.
• A basket of water crackers can be placed on the table as well. Crackers can serve as a palate cleanser or nibbler.
• Create nice postcards with winemaker notes as well as descriptions from wine connoisseurs for each bottle. Some guests like to have an idea of what they are tasting before they sip while others like to discover the wine for themselves and then compare their findings to the pros.
• Consider a notepad and pen for each guest to take their own notes.
• Include essentials such as beverage napkins and a wine opener.

For Wine Tasting Tips and Techniques Read:

• Wine Tasting in 5 Easy Steps
  
• A Sensuous Wine Tasting Party