What should you expect in the tasting room?

For many people, entering the tasting room of a winery is a novel experience.  They do because they are on vacation, or are taking a day to try something different, or because their friends asked them to come along.  They end up at the tasting bar, unsure of what they should ask or how they should act.  Or they wander about the room, looking at wine-related gift items and racks of bottles, just a bit uncomfortable about the process of asking to taste the wine.  I know I have.

The staff of a well-run tasting room understands how you feel.  Their prime objective is (or should be) to help you enjoy this experience.  We might be suspicious that they really want to sell us wine and of course that is true – but the best way to sell that wine is to entrance you with the taste and sensation of drinking it, to make you want to bring it home with you.

The first thing I expect is a friendly greeting.  There is no need for it to be delivered with the haste or sincerity found as you enter a store on a mall.  In fact, I prefer a little reserve, a chance to look around without being bothered if I feel like it.  Wine is to be savored, experienced, and enjoyed.  A good tasting room will try to enhance that feeling.  They will not rush you, because the very idea of haste seems out of place with wine.  They will try to make you feel at ease, which is as it should be; wine is the most convivial of beverages.

You should expect a clean and well kept tasting room.  Almost all are.  Many are attractively decorated; some are extravagant.  But we do remember a winery where the tasting room was the vat room – we were there during crush, and the tiny bugs were everywhere, settling on the glass as we tried to sip.  We never went back, and the winery is now closed.

Once you do step up, it is natural to expect a little guidance from the server.  They need to know what their wines are like.  They need to have a suggested tasting order.  They need to know how to respond to customer questions, and how to draw customers out about their likes and dislikes without being intrusive.  Much of the experience of wine comes from the discussion of the tastes and making of the wine.  So you should expect a knowledgeable server, if not an expert, and best of all one who has enthusaim for wine themselves.

Most tasting rooms are staffed by people like that: friendly, knowledgeable, and willing to share what they know.  Some are not.  You will generally discover early in your visit which one you have met this time.

One way this becomes obvious is in the tasting order.  Most pourers will suggest you go from light and dry to heavy and sweet.  This would mean tasting in roughly this order: sparkling wines; light whites, heavy whites; roses; light reds; heavy reds; sweet wines.  The reasoning behind that is simple. Drinking a heavier red like a Cabernet Sauvignon or a sweet dessert wine first and then tasting a light white wine will make it very difficult or impossible to discover much about the last choice.  Your palate will be overwhelmed by the stronger sensations of the earlier wines.

The people at the tasting room already know this.  They know their own wines, and they should have an excellent idea of what order to taste them in to show their qualities off best.  If your server does not, the room management needs to work to improve their staff training.  Yet you will sometimes run into servers who seem clueless, who will simply ask you what you would like to taste first and offer no guidance at all. 

If this happens to you, I suggest asking some questions about the wine and how it fits into the taste spectrum above.  If the server doesn’t know, ask if there is someone else who might know.  If there isn’t, many tasting rooms have a sheet with descriptions you can read to make your own guesses about what you wish to try, and in what order.  It is fine to start at any point you like, but you will generally enjoy yourself more by proceeding in the order described above.

One thing I decidedly do not like is a surprise tasting fee.  Wineries have a right to charge one if they wish, and they should if they need to do so.  I simply think any winery charging one should make sure they post a notice. I also think that notice should be where you can see it as you come in, and should be noted on websites and in advertising about the tasting room.

In some areas, tasting fees are becoming the norm and are expected, while in others they are still unusual.  Some people would not come if they knew there was a fee; some turn around and leave when they discover there is one.  Others would or will pay, but feel that not posting the notice is unfair.

Many tasting rooms will have unsalted crackers or other small food to cleanse your palate between tastes.  If they have them, you should have a small portion between pours.  Doing so will enhance your ability to taste the wine.

Some tasting rooms, usually those that are pouring a port-style or dessert wine, may offer you a small taste of chocolate at the end.  This is done for the excellent reason that they go well together, creating a memory that often lingers all the way to the purchase of that wine.  I like chocolate just fine, but I always try for a first taste of that wine before I have the candy.  When I don’t, I usually remember a taste of chocolate-with-wine rather than the wine itself.  The chocolate is good marketing, but I would rather buy the wine for itself, if I do at all.

At the end, you have your purchase decision.  We usually make a “courtesy buy” if the tasting is free, even when we have trouble finding a selection we really like.  Many people seem to do that.  Once or twice we purchased some other item when we simply were at a loss as to what wine we would buy.  But if the wine is not to our liking and we paid a tasting fee, we do not feel obligated.

The good news is that most tasting rooms are fun to visit, staffed with people who are knowledgeable or interested in wine, and well run.  You rarely see unhappy people there.  After all, the customers are having a good time, an escape, an adventure, and they are tasting wine.  The staff are trying to be pleasant, and often enjoy talking about wine with you if they have the time to share.