Want to experience wine in la bella Italia?
This article is a continuation of my first 5 tips for wine tasting in Italy…you can read it here. If you’re ready for the next 5 read on!
5 More Wine Tasting Tips
1. Go Wine Tasting in the Morning
It may seem silly to think about drinking wine at 10am, but there is a reason tasting rooms open at this time.
Your palate is freshest in the AM so you will be able to experience the wines better. Something called palate fatigue can happen if you taste too late in the day, and your taste buds have already been worked over.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Dump the Wine
It’s not considered rude to dump out the rest of your wine. Drunk wine tasters are every
vineyards worst nightmare. Take a sip or two, dump and move on.
If you love the wine, buy a bottle, but don’t try to finish every tasting you are given.
3. Don’t Forget that Wine Preferences are Highly Subjective
What one person likes can be entirely different than another person’s preferences. This doesn’t mean something is necessarily good or bad, it’s just a matter of what wine speaks to you.
Don’t worry if the wine your friend loves for you fa schifo (is gross).
4. Call Ahead.
Italy is a bit different than California where you can basically just drive up and expect a tasting.
In Italy, it’s better if you make an appointment ahead of time. This is because vineyards often only have one or two staff members and if you show up when they are busy, no one will be able to accommodate you.
Save yourself and them a bunch of stress, and make an appointment (also this is a great
excuse to use your Italian!).
5. Think About Lunch.
Another benefit of wine tasting in Italia is the fact that a lot of vineyards also have kitchens. You can sometimes combine a tasting with a full lunch, planned by their inhouse chef.
This is an amazing opportunity to experience their wines as they work with food (and pad your stomach a bit for future tastings).
Have you ever been wine tasting in Italy? What’s your favorite wine region?
