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Setting Up a Wine Tasting Like a Pro

What are the most important things to set up for a wine tasting? Sommelier, Madeline Puckette walks through what she does for Wine Folly Club.

  1. Chill wines to proper temperature
  2. Clean / polish glassware
  3. Decant full-bodied red wines
  4. Pour remaining wines right before tasting

Serve wine at the right temperature

You wouldn't serve lukewarm coffee so why serve lukewarm wine? As it happens, different types of wine have different serving temperature preferences.

Of course, when you're hosting a comparative tasting with many wines it's hard to get all your wines to the perfect temperature. So, a good rule of thumb is to chill all wines down to about 50 ºF (10 ºC) – it's better to be too cool than too warm.

Prepare and polish your wine glasses

Ideally, you'll want to use identical wine glasses for a comparative wine tasting.

It's easy to polish away water spots and finger smudges with a polishing cloth.

Decant your bold red wines

Decanting helps soften tannins and remove off aromas after a bottle is just opened. Here's a best practices guide on decanting if you want to know the nitty gritty details.

However, for a multi-wine tasting with lots of moving parts, just remember to pour the bold red wines into their glasses about an hour before the tasting begins.

Have fun!

Hosting a wine tasting has a lot of details! That being said, the goal is to have fun and share in aroma, taste, and experience.

We hope this shows how easy a wine tasting can be so that you can host your own!

Wines Mentioned


Bordeaux Blanc

Château Ducasse

2021 Bordeaux Blanc

Bordeaux | Gironde

Intense lime and gooseberry fruit aromas with a savory and appetizing herbal edge. Medium bodied frame, passion and lemon/ lime fruit flavors are followed by stony minerality and a clean finish. The racy acidity, low 12% abv, dry palate, and unoaked style keeps this wine ultra-refreshing and versatile.

Medium bodied frame, passion fruit and lemon/ lime fruit flavors are followed by stony minerality and a clean finish. The racy acidity, low 12% abv, dry palate, and unoaked style keeps the wine ultra-refreshing and versatile.

Find out more

Brut Nature Reserva Corpinnat

Can Descregut

2019 Brut Nature Reserva Corpinnat

Corpinnat | Spain

In the mouth it is structured, creamy and with perfect sugar and acidity balance

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Vidente

Mira do Ó

2018 Vidente

Dão | Portugal

The mouth is very elegant and delicate, with silky but tense tannins that linger through the long after taste.

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Frappato

Planeta

2021 Frappato

Vittoria | Sicilia

A rare and exclusive grape variety cultivated on only a few hectares, it is best expressed in the red sands of Vittoria, not far from the sea. An aromatic and pleasant red wine as few others, a perfect synthesis between tradition and innovation.

In the mouth much red fruit with balsamic tones.

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Trollinger

Weingut Beurer

2021 Trollinger

Württemberg | Germany

Light in body with succulent fruit flavors, it’s exceptionally easy drinking. Sleek and soft tannins are complemented by crunchy, linear acidity.

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Grand Selection Carmenere

Lapostolle Wines

2019 Grand Selection Carmenere

Valle de Rapel | Chile

Medium structure with very nice red fruit expression, juicy tannins and good balance.

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