A common activity that tourists do when traveling to locations with wineries such as California, Italy, Switzerland, Australia, Spain, and more, is wine tastings. And we definitely love this as something to do during your travels, as it is fun, educational, and helps you get to know the local culture in a unique way.
But if you haven’t been to a lot of wine tastings, it may make you feel a little bit awkward, uncomfortable, or intimidated. What if you don’t know anything about wine? How do you act like you do? Here’s a quick guide.
What Happens During a Wine Tasting?
First, let’s talk about what to expect at a wine tasting. You may or may not do a tour around the winery, but you’ll definitely end up in a tasting room where a sommelier will walk you through a tasting menu of wines made and sold at the winery. They’ll give you time to try each one, talk to you about them, and at the end, you’ll have an opportunity to buy wine if you want to.
How to Taste Wine
While it may feel like a high-pressure situation, the point of a wine tasting is to just to allow you to get an impression of a wine. So follow the 5 Ss: see it, swirl it, sniff it, sip it, and savor it. Afterward, spit it out or swallow it depending on what you prefer. And most importantly, don’t take it too seriously. This is just for fun, after all.