Before Wine Tasting
Eat a meal before wine tasting.
Dress comfortably.
Do not wear your favorite white shirt.
Bring valid ID for age verification.
Take water bottle.
Bring money in case you would like to buy glasses, souvenirs or wine.
Bring your camera.
Wine Tasting
Once the wine is opened, take the cork in your hand and make sure it's moist and not brittle.
If the cork is very dry, it's quite likely the wine was improperly stored.
Once the wine is poured, lift your glass and look at the wine.
Check the wine against the backdrop of the white linen of the tablecloth or napkin.
Look for touches of brown in the wine.
Check the color of the wine.
Check whether the wine is cloudy or not.
Check the back label of a wine bottle, to see if a wine is filtered or not.
Swirl the wine in your glass.
Check for any signs of mustiness, like the smell of wet cardboard.
Get a sense of the wine's character through its aromas.
Take a sip, and if you can bring a little air in with the wine, do so.
You may slurp to enhance the tasting experience.
Let the wine swirl about your mouth so that all your taste receptors have an opportunity to touch the wine.
Sense the weight of the wine.
Try to get a sense of how long the taste of the wine stays with you.
Write notes about the different wines you taste.
Keep a log for future reference.
Keep a record of the wines you liked and the ones that you probably won't taste again.

Wine Tasting Checklist

Related Checklist Templates: