Everything you need for a memorable evening of wine, conversation, and discovery.
Few evenings are more enjoyable than a blind wine tasting. Everyone has something to say, conversation flows naturally, and any arguments are more likely to be about natural wine than politics. Friends discover new wines, challenge one another’s assumptions, and often surprise themselves.
Better still, hosting a blind wine tasting is much easier than most people imagine. You don’t need expensive wines, specialist equipment, or expert knowledge. All you need are a handful of bottles, a few glasses, and a few curious friends. Once the labels are hidden, everyone starts from the same place, and discovering the wines together becomes half the fun.
Don’t aim for perfection. Aim for an enjoyable evening. If your guests leave having enjoyed themselves and perhaps discovered something new, you’ve succeeded.
What You’ll Need (Not Much)
Essential
- Six to twelve wines (six is a good number to start with).
- A corkscrew.
- Standard wine glasses, preferably all of the same type. ISO tasting glasses are ideal, but any decent wine glasses will do.
- Bottle sleeves or identical unmarked bottles or decanters. In a pinch, aluminium foil might do.
- Spittoons (ordinary cups are perfectly adequate).
- Pens and tasting sheets.
Useful, but not essential
- A foil cutter.
- A funnel.
- Wine pourers to minimise dripping.
- Crib sheets for guests to lean upon.
The idea is simply to conceal the identity of the bottles. Sleeves or decanters work best, but for an informal tasting, aluminium foil—or simply asking your guests to step out of the room while you pour the wines—works just as well.
Tasting sheets and crib sheets can be downloaded free from my blind tasting resources page.
Choosing the Wines
Most blind tastings revolve around a simple theme. You might compare Chardonnay from different countries, South African wines, Rhône reds, Left Bank Bordeaux, or wines matured in oak.
Six wines are ideal for a first tasting. As your confidence grows, you can increase this to twelve.
If serving twelve wines, divide them into two flights of six, typically whites followed by reds. This keeps comparisons manageable while reducing the number of glasses required.
Blind tastings may be horizontal, comparing different wines of a similar style or period, or vertical, comparing different vintages of the same wine. Horizontal tastings are generally more suitable for beginners.
Don’t overthink it, though. When I have friends over, I’ll often ask them to step out of the kitchen while I pour just one wine into their glasses. Then I’ll ask them to return and blind taste it. Simple as that—and always lots of fun.
Glasses and Pouring
Any decent wine glass will do, provided everyone uses the same type. Long-stemmed, tulip-shaped glasses are ideal, and inexpensive ISO tasting glasses have become the standard because they are suitable for almost every style of wine.
Pour a modest amount into each glass—enough to swirl, smell, and taste comfortably, remembering that your guests will probably be sampling several wines over the course of the evening.
Serving Temperatures
Temperature matters more than many people realise. As a rough guide, serve most white, rosé, and sparkling wines at 8–10°C, and most red wines at 14–18°C. If in doubt, err on the side of serving a wine slightly too cool. It will soon warm up in the glass.
Running the Tasting
Allow around five to ten minutes for guests to assess each wine before opening the discussion.
Encourage people to begin with the lightest wine rather than simply working from left to right. As a general rule, taste white before red, dry before sweet, young before old, and modest before fine. These are guidelines rather than hard-and-fast rules. A delicate Pinot Noir, for example, may be better tasted before a rich Chardonnay.
When everyone is ready, ask one or two guests to describe the wine before inviting everyone else to contribute. Only then should people begin guessing its identity. Once the discussion has run its course, reveal the wine—or, if all the wines share a common theme, wait until the end of the flight before revealing them together.
Don’t become a slave to the timetable. If everyone has finished tasting, move on. If the discussion is lively, don’t seek to curtail it. Remember that the discussion is often more interesting than the reveal—and it’s probably what people will remember.
Creating the Right Atmosphere
Wine is about bringing people together.
If possible, seat everyone around a single table, and mix beginners with more experienced tasters who can offer encouragement rather than intimidation.
Complete silence can make newcomers uncomfortable, while endless chatter defeats the object. Aim for conversation about the wines themselves.
Whenever you taste, try to be relaxed, well hydrated, and slightly hungry. Bright natural daylight is ideal, although any good light will suffice. More importantly, avoid strongly scented flowers, food, perfume, and aftershave, all of which can interfere with the aromas in the glass.
My Favourite Format
One of the simplest—and most enjoyable—ways to host a blind tasting is to ask every guest to bring a bottle concealed in a sleeve or bag.
The cost is shared, the organiser gets to be surprised as much as everyone else, and guests naturally compete to bring something interesting. It almost always makes for a memorable evening.
With the tasting at an end, consider inviting everyone to stay for dinner with whatever remains of the wines. If you can’t cook, order a takeaway.
Above All, Enjoy Yourself
Remember that a blind wine tasting isn’t about discovering who knows the most about wine. It’s about discovering new bottles, sharpening your senses, and spending an enjoyable evening with friends.
Don’t worry if the wines are served a little too cool, if the discussion overruns, or if nobody correctly identifies the Meursault. In fact, the biggest surprises often produce the best conversations. Beginners often notice things that experienced tasters overlook, and there is no shame in changing your mind after hearing someone else’s opinion.
As with any dinner party, people are unlikely to remember whether everything was organised perfectly. They will remember the atmosphere, the laughter, the conversation—and perhaps one or two wonderful wines they might never otherwise have discovered.
Don’t strive for a perfect blind tasting. Strive for a memorable evening.
And if your guests ask when you’re hosting the next one, tell them it’s their turn now.
Continue Exploring
Hosting a blind tasting is only the beginning. If you’d like to deepen your understanding of wine and develop your palate, The Concise Guide to Wine and Blind Tasting brings together everything I’ve learnt over many years of tasting, judging, teaching, and writing about wine. Whether you’re choosing a bottle for dinner, hosting your own blind tastings, or preparing for a wine qualification, it will help you taste with greater confidence—and greater pleasure.
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