Wine tasting is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that everyone — even those who consider themselves wine sommeliers — can enjoy and learn from. It’s a great activity for bachelorette parties, reunions, and get-togethers with friends.

If you’ve been invited to a wine tasting event, you may be wondering what you can expect. First of all, you can expect to have a fun and enriching experience, especially when you visit the tasting room at Jonathan Edwards Winery in New Haven County. But to ease your nerves about this new experience, we’ve provided a few tips for wine tasting beginners.

Eat Beforehand

Even if your wine tasting experience includes food pairings, you should still eat a hearty meal before the event. Drinking wine on an empty stomach can get you intoxicated quickly and even make you feel nauseous. When you feel this way, it will be hard to enjoy the taste of new wines. Make sure to pace yourself and sip your wine rather than chugging it. And don’t be shy about spitting the wine into a spit bucket. 

Dress Appropriately

How you dress for a wine tasting can determine how enjoyable of an experience you will have. You will be walking a lot as you tour the winery, so high heels may not be appropriate. Instead, you may want to wear flats or low heels. Additionally, you will likely want to wear dark clothing, so it will not be as obvious if you spill red wine on yourself.

If there isn’t a dress code, you can dress as comfortably as you want, which will cut down on distractions as you tour the winery, taste wines, and take notes. It’s also a good idea to avoid wearing fragrances. Perfumes and cologne can impede your ability to detect all the aromas of the wine correctly.

Use Proper Technique

The tasting room staff will likely teach you some wine tasting techniques, but it’s helpful to know how to hold a wine glass so that you do not alter the flavor of the wine. Hold the glass by the stem, keeping your fingers and hand away from the bowl. The warmth of your hands can heat up the wine, changing its flavor. Be sure to swirl the wine before taking a sip so it has time to “breathe,” enhancing each of its notes.

Ask Questions

The winery staff is more than pleased to answer any of your questions, so don’t feel shy. Let your questions fly and satisfy your curiosity about the individual wines, the history of the vineyard, and the winemaking process. You may even have a chance to speak with the winemaker, so keep a list of questions you would like to ask close by and jot down notes when you can.

Visit Jonathan Edwards Winery

With these essential tips, you’re on your way to knowing proper wine tasting etiquette. The more you attend wine tastings and wine tours, the more you will feel like a real sommelier.

Visit our tasting room during the week, and even plan a Stonington wine festival on the weekend. Are you also looking for Stonington, CT, wedding venues? Well, you’ve come to the right place!

Whether you would like to go on a wine tasting tour or plan a special event in our winery, get in touch with us for more information!



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Are you going to your first wine tasting? Make sure you’re prepared to make the most of the experience with these wine tasting tips for beginners.