Hosting tastings are still possible while distancing

UNCORKED

Everyone is doing it — socializing online. I have many friends hosting online dinner parties, cocktail hours and even birthday parties so why not host an online wine tasting? I’ve put together some of the basic tips but the most important is keep it fun.

GETTING ONLINE

Normally, I would tell you to start with a date, theme and location. But for this tasting, an added variable is your online platform for hosting the tasting. For those working from home, chances are you already have an app or two already in place for videoconferencing. Be sure all of your guests will have the same software tool and then be sure the software can allow the number of guests you will be inviting. Zoom, Houseparty, FaceTime and WhatsApp are just a few. Before settling on one, double-check the time usage rules and the number of people allowed in a session.

PICKING A THEME

Once you have the online platform, date and number of guests, select an easy but educational and fun tasting theme. You could look at wines by grapes, vintage, regions. For this part of the organizing, you need to be sure all of the guests can find the exact same wines your group is tasting. If all of your guests live in the same town an easy way to do this is to coordinate with the same wine shop and have the selected wines delivered or reserved for pick up.

TASTING SET-UP

Perhaps the best thing about a virtual tasting is there’s no need to clean your house first or stress over food, drinks and those details you normally have when hosting in our homes. This is stressless fun! For in-home tastings, you would ideally have all of the wines blind and put together by the host or hostess. This could be a logistical nightmare considering everyone is buying their own wines and already know the tasting lineup. So keep it simple by just having the wines open for discussion. What makes one chardonnay different compared to another from a different part of the world? There’s no need to overthink the exploration. Keep it simple.

CREATING A MENU

Everyone needs to eat! Of course no wine tasting, online or in-person is complete without food. This is a great opportunity to have each of your guests create their own pairing to tell the group about. Or if you would rather have the group tasting the same pairings, keep it simple with a cheese board or something guests can put together themselves. Another option — if everyone is in the same town — is for everyone to order from the same local restaurant for pickup or delivery. You can double the fun by having a virtual dinner party.

CHALLENGING YOUR FRIENDS

Add to the fun with a little competition. Ask your guests a few trivia questions before each round of tasting. This will be as much an exercise in trust as it is wine knowledge, considering your guests can look up the answers offscreen. So, keep it honest. Have a prize for the most correct answers for possibly a future event or get-together when getting together is an option.

Lorri Hambuchen is a member of London’s Institute of Wines and Spirits. Email:

uncorked@thewinecenter.com