What you need to know before wine tastings

As a wine lover, going to wine tastings is always a fun way to spend an afternoon or evening. However, if you’ve never been to a wine tasting before, the concept may be confusing. This post will explain what you need to know before going to your first private wine tasting. From what to wear to what kinds of wines will be served, this post has everything you need to make the most out of your wine tasting experience!

What are wine tastings usually like 

At a wine tasting, you are trying many different wines usually served by the owner or representative of the winery or wine bar. The atmosphere is usually very relaxed and social – it’s not really meant to be a formal presentation with wine enthusiasts lecturing you on wine. It is more about having fun, being social, and enjoying your evening. 

Sometimes there will be people who are experts in wine there to talk about the wines with you, but not all tastings will have those types of people. It is usually okay to bring friends and family members as long as they love wine (or at least like it) and don’t mind spending a few hours trying new wines.

Limited production wines 

Wine tasting usually means trying wines that are limited production, meaning they produce a very small amount of wine each year and it is therefore fairly difficult to get your hands on these wines. As you can imagine, this makes most wine tastings very exclusive events with most wineries only selling out of their tastings quickly!

Many wine bars will host wine tastings where they taste some of their wines. They probably won’t have limited production wines available, but the atmosphere is usually very relaxing and you can chat with your friends while enjoying a few glasses of wine. 

Wine tasting is a social event

Wine tasting is meant to be a relaxed, social event. There is usually no strict dress code or anything like that so you can pretty much wear whatever you want! If the tasting is at night, casual dinner clothes will work fine. But if it’s during the day, more casual clothing like jeans and t-shirts are just fine too.

A tasting room is usually set up where there are many different wines to try – usually their whole collection. Bottles of wine will be opened, and sometimes there will even be snacks to pair with the wines you’re tasting. It is more about having fun together than it is about learning about wine, though some wineries make it educational as well.

Don’t drink too much wine or you will feel sick 

Wine tasting is meant to be fun and social, not an excuse to get smashed. Remember you are not drinking some beers at Miami Beach,  it is easy to get sick of drinking too much wine, especially after trying 5-8 wines in a row. Take your time and enjoy each sip – don’t gulp it down!

The wines are often very good quality wines, which means they also have high alcohol contents. If you drink too much wine because it tastes so good, you will probably feel sick later on!

Know the basics about wine before you go to the tasting – what types of wines are there, how to taste wine, what kinds of glasses are used 

If you’ve never been to a wine tasting before, it is important to at least know the basics about wines and wine tasting. Some wineries will have informational sheets with information about what types of wines they will be serving at their tasting. These are a great way to learn a little bit more so you can feel confident while going up to each person pouring the wines to ask them questions.

Food pairings that go well with different types of wines 

One important thing about wine tastings is knowing what kinds of wines go well with different kinds of foods. You can’t just drink whatever you want when tasting wines – maybe if it was beer! But with wines, certain types of wines go well with specific kinds of foods.

If you want to have a happy wine tasting experience, it is important to have a little knowledge about what wines go well with what types of foods. The best foods to pair with wines are usually cheese, crackers, or light meats like chicken.

You can taste wines without being an expert, but it helps if you know the basics of wine 

Free tastings are a great way to try wines without feeling intimidated or pressured into buying something. However, that means it is harder for you to ask all the questions you might have since there are no experts available at these tastings.

The best thing you can do is go to a place where you can have a deeper dive into the winery and talk to an expert. You can enjoy yourself just fine at free wine tastings, but it makes it easier when you know more about wines and goes with people who know more than you.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! The more you know about wine, the better time you’ll have at tastings (

At paid tastings, especially at places where they are serving their entire collection of wines, the staff are usually very knowledgeable about the wines. This is what makes it so much better than free tastings!

The best thing to do is talk with the people pouring your wines and ask them questions. They will be more than happy to tell you more about what you’re tasting. If you have more specific questions, contact the winery directly and they will be able to answer your specific questions!

At Schnebly Winery we have the best wine tastings of all the wineries in Miami, Florida. Not only do we have a free tasting where you can try our entire Collection of wines, but also a paid wine tasting where you will learn about the different kinds of wines that we serve and how to pair them with certain foods.

Contact us today!