Wine Lovers' Page/Wine Tasting Toolbox

Bottle and hammer This feature, which contains some elements in common with our LEARN About Wine menu, is intended particularly for wine lovers at any stage of expertise who are looking for a complete set of tools to taste wine analytically, whether as a hobby exercise at home or while dining out, or for organizing a group wine-tasting party.

The menu below includes hotlinks to reference material, including my wine-appreciation tutorial and glossaries; short articles about wine-tasting parties; and tasting forms suitable for downloading or printing out for your free, non-commercial use.

REFERENCE MATERIAL

Wine Lovers' Lexicon
This new feature combines our wine-tasting dictionary and wine-pronouncing glossary. Featuring more than 500 wine-related words and phrases, the Wine Lovers' Lexicon offers you quick, readable definitions of the words you'll need to select, evaluate and buy wine in the tasting room, restaurant or wine shop, complete with pronunciations and MP3 sound files so you can hear all the non-English words and phrases.

Food and Wine Matching Engine
Puzzled about what to serve at your wine-tasting party? Using our unique Food and Wine Matching Engine you can simply click on the entree or cuisine of your choice to bring up a short article discussing the wines that work best with it and why.

Quick Wine Tasting Course This online wine-tasting tutorial is based on a series of newspaper articles that I wrote for The Louisville Courier-Journal several years ago. It's intended as a quick and comprehensible starting point for newcomers to wine appreciation.

Wine Questionary
Much like a traditional encyclopedia but hyperlinked and interactive, The Wine Questionary makes it easy for you to browse through the most frequently asked wine questions (not to mention some more uncommon but intriguing topics) and find just the information you seek.

ARTICLES

How can I set up a wine-tasting party? This short article discusses some of the basic premises of group tastings and outlines simple hints for setting up a sociable wine-tasting event at home.

Start your own tasting club! With more than 100,000 wines on the market, getting together with fellow wine lovers is one of the best ways to learn about wine. An informal tasting club can enhance your understanding and enjoyment, and you can taste more wine, save money and have fun. So says wine writer John Juergens, commenting on the Importance of Gathering Around Wine.

Theme for a wine-education "game" This article, another in my series of WineFAQs, outlines how to set up a blind tasting and some other informal wine-tasting "games" that may inspire a tasting party that's both fun and educational.

TASTING FORMS

A simple tasting form
This straightforward form makes scoring simple, whether you're a novice or an experienced taster.

A detailed tasting form
This graphical form, courtesy of the New Jersey Men of Taste wine-appreciation group, offers a precise 20-point scoring system that's easy to use, yet is sophisticated enough for experienced wine lovers.

An essay-style scoresheet
If you'd rather approach your wine contemplatively than mathematically and describe it in words of your choosing, this essay-style form might be just right for you.