Step One:<br>Set The Scene

• Ask each guest to bring a bottle of wine that they find interesting. If you need help choosing a wine, see Learn2 Choose Wine. One of the basic differences between wines is tannin levels. Tannins are acids that give wine an astringent quality. They can nicely balance a fruity taste or overwhelm the mouth with acidity. A more tannic style is often an acquired taste, but one worth developing.

  
  

• Set out a single glass for each guest on a table. Along with crackers or bread, put out some room-temperature water in glasses for rinsing mouths (cold water numbs the tastebuds). Put the clean cloth where it's easily accessible.
• Collect the bottles from your guests and open them up (see Learn2 Open And Serve Wine). Since it's difficult to decant several bottles at once, pour off a half-glass from each bottle of red, so that there's more surface area exposed in each bottle. This will help the wine breathe a bit (see next point). White and blush wines should be chilled slightly before opening.
• If you are decanting your red wines, try the wine again periodically, say, every 10 or 15 minutes. As the wine is exposed to air, it will change a bit -- it breathes. If you make a note of your timing preference, you'll know how to serve that wine in the future.

  
  

When tasting many wines, it's a good idea to start with lighter, simpler wines, and move on to drier, heavier ones. White wine's charms can be obliterated in a mouth that has been puckered by tannic reds. By the same token, swirl some water around the glass after emptying it of wine. Take the clean cloth and dry it out, so that the next wine is not diluted with water.

	Learn2 Speak Wine
	Learn2 Choose Wine
Learn2 Open And Serve Wine And Champagne

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