How to Start a Wine Tasting Group

Many of our most dedicated wine students hope to join an existing, successful tasting group. If you can do that, great!

But as most tasting groups either fizzle after the first few sessions or maintain tight membership, I’m going to offer advice on the next best thing: how to start a tasting group.

Let’s go over a few ground rules to get you set up for success:

Set your objective

Some successful tasting groups are focused on community and the appreciation of wine, while others are focused on preparation for a specific wine exam. Let your hopes for this group set the structure. If you’re looking for connection, a weekend tasting group with food pairing might be just the thing. But if you’re preparing for an exam, a setting that reflects exam conditions is more effective. When Stacey Gibson, co-owner of Parallel Food and Drink, started her CMS-focused tasting group, she scheduled it on Friday mornings, finding that “dedication was built in because unserious people don’t want to wake up for a tasting group that early.”   

Find your people

Your ideal tasting group members are dedicated and motivated students with a comparable level of knowledge and skill. Samantha Cole-Johnson, WSA educatorand MW candidate notes that, “if you are the most advanced taster, what often happens is that people defer to your call, and this isn’t the best when you’re trying to improve.” Ideally, all attendees will have completed the same level of certification and will agree to use one wine evaluation system (WSET or CMS), so that terminology is universal.

Stick to a schedule

The work of the tasting group should be in the evaluation of the wines, not the scheduling. Trying to accommodate everyone’s schedule will eventually kill your tasting group. Cheryl Wakerhauser, owner of Pix Patisserie and participant in multiple tasting groups notes, “If we organized a tasting group again, I would have it on the same day of the month, every month, so people can block it off on their calendars.” 

Selecting your wines

Let the goal of your tasting group determine the wines you’ll taste. The purpose of most tasting groups is to taste with purpose and focus. If you’re tasting for a certification exam, Kate Claunch, current Master Sommelier student, notes the importance of tasting only “testable wines from benchmark producers.” Comb through lists of previous exam wines and put in the extra effort to find wines of true typicity. This worthwhile but time-consuming task should be shared across your group members.

Purchasing your wines

This is arguably the most challenging part and where things can really go awry. In many tasting groups everyone brings one brown-bagged bottle to share. This straightforward strategy eliminates additional work for the host and allows your group size to easily fluctuate week-to-week. However, resentments can set in when attendees don’t invest comparable money or effort into securing tasting-worthy wines.  Art Tierce, WSA Board Member, says of his longstanding tasting group, “the quality of wine and education took a massive leap forward once we started having a captain for tastings.” In Art’s group, the captain role rotates, with each member taking turns leading an education-focused session, selecting tasting appropriate wines, and then getting reimbursed.

Establish rules and protocols

Wine is a beautiful, rule-defying beverage that can cause wine-lovers to go astray. Ground rules should be set before the first session and can always be tweaked later. A few constraints to keep things successful include:

1.   Determine and follow a sharp start time and, if your tasting is professionally-focused, a hard stop. A set time limit for each wine tasted will keep everyone on task.

2.   Taste wines at a consistent temperature for comparison.

3.   Use consistent glassware across tasters.

4.   Nominate a rotating session leader who will keep tasters on task. The joy of tasting with others is to share ideas; make sure all voices are heard equally. 

Schedule regular maintenance

Don’t be afraid to make changes to a group’s rules once set, either on your own or with the consensus of your group. The number of wines, price of wines, tasting format, and existing members will require occasional tweaking.

 If you establish a group and are looking for great members, let me know. We have students who want to join you!