Jury · Rate together · Checklist
Host a tasting at home
A good tasting doesn’t take much, but it helps to have the amounts, the order and the pouring sorted. Here’s the checklist.
- Guests
- Four to ten
- Rounds
- Four to eight
- Time
- About two hours
Updated
How much do you need?
Tasting pours should be small, so you get through them all and can still tell them apart at the end. Rules of thumb:
| What | Per pour | Goes how far |
|---|---|---|
| Wine | 40–50 ml | About 15 pours per 750 ml bottle |
| Beer | 50–100 ml | 4–6 pours per 330 ml bottle |
| Spirits | 10–20 ml | Plenty; one bottle is more than enough |
| Mulled wine | 50 ml | 20 pours per litre |
| Coffee | A small cup | Brewed just before each round |
| Cake or food | One bite | Cut small, so everyone tries the same piece |
Checklist
- Whatever you’re tasting, and a list of what’s what (for the pourer only).
- Glasses or plates with numbers, or tape and a marker.
- Water and plain bread or crackers between rounds.
- A jug or bucket for leftovers if you’re tasting wine.
- Foil or paper bags to hide bottles if it’s blind.
- Score sheets and pens, or Jury on your phones. Make a score sheet.
The order
Start light and gentle, and finish strong. Strong flavours drown out light ones, so tasting the other way round makes it hard to tell anything apart.
- Wine: white before red, light before full-bodied, dry before sweet.
- Beer: pale and light before dark and strong, the hoppiest and sourest last.
- Coffee: light roast before dark.
- Food: savoury before sweet.
On the night
Pick a pourer.
One person keeps track of what’s what. If it’s blind, they’re the only one who knows.
Explain the criteria.
Take a minute to agree what each criterion means, and what the numbers mean.
One round at a time.
Taste, score and move on. Save the chat about each round until everyone’s done.
Reveal.
After each round or all at once at the end. A big reveal makes a good finale.
Keep the result.
Write down the winner, or keep it in Jury, so you can compare next time.
Questions and answers
How many people make a good tasting?
Four to ten is ideal. If you’re more, buy two of each or split into teams.
How many wines can you taste in an evening?
Five to eight. At 40–50 ml a pour, that’s about a third of a bottle each in total.
Do we need to spit?
Not at a relaxed evening at home. If you’re tasting a lot, a bucket on the table is a good idea.
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