Enjoying Wine and Spirits Differently During Your Holiday Festivities

Why does wine sometimes taste better at a winery then it does when you have it at home? And same for spirits, why is it sometimes mind-blowing at a distillery but not in your living room? I’ve been asked these questions, and experienced it myself, so with the holidays just around the corner I wanted to give you some refreshing ideas for you to enjoy your favorite wines and spirits in festive evenings with friends.
It’s no secret that wineries and distilleries have been upping their game for years. Mostly gone are the walk-in one-hour-long tastings while standing up at a bar, and then driving to the next spot to do it again, sometimes several times in one day. Now wine and spirit lovers have a gamut of experiences to enjoy from food pairings designed by local chefs to extensive facility tours with a winemaker or distiller.
These enhanced events are competitive, with each winery and distillery trying to outdo another, or just trying to keep their own events new and fresh. So of course, if you have any experience that prompts you to buy liquor there is no way you are going to feel the same way when you have that liquor just at home. You can, however, do a few things to insure a great experience. Here are a few suggestions:
The easiest is simply to relive the memory a little. Share your tasting experience with a friend or two while sharing a bottle. We’ve done that numerous times with bottles we have brought home from the Kentucky Bourbon Fest – as the event has “festival” bottles you can’t easily find. The same can be said about our wine club memberships, we will share a wine club exclusive bottle with friends and tell them what we’ve learned about the winery and the vintner or winemaker.
Another way to relive the memory is to duplicate it with more than just one or two friends. Open more than one bottle of wine from the same winery, or several different spirits. You can even invite a winery employee or spirits ambassador – if their licenses allow it and only if you’re confident that your guests would be interested in purchasing their alcohol. Or you could simply invite a wine or spirits educator to your party. Then let your guest host take charge to talk about flavors and aromas, the history of their winery or distillery, the latest trends and so on. A tasting like this has twofold benefits: you’ve created a unique party with friends, and you’ve all had your palates further educated.
One last thought, as it’s for the holidays, consider making a memorable and festive occasion out of your tasting – whether for a small party or a larger one. Add in a grazing table with a holiday-themed bites, decorate with winter-themed details and share your favorite holiday music, then end the evening with a toast to more festive evenings to come!

Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in the first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Proof Awards, Cellarmasters, LA Wine Competition, Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits.

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