Five Ways to Elevate your Wine Tasting

1. The Classic Vertical Tasting: Tasting Wine Through the Ages (And Looking Super Fancy)

If you’re looking to dive deep into the soul of a single wine, vertical tastings are where it’s at. Imagine tasting wine from the same vineyard, but from different years—each one like a different season of your favorite Netflix show, with more drama, character development, and the occasional plot twist.

How It Works: Line up multiple vintages of the same wine (think 2015, 2017, and 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon). Start with the youngest and work your way back. Notice how the tannins mellow, the flavors deepen, and the wine’s character transforms with each passing year. Make sure you engage your sense of smell. Extra points if you pretend you’re a time traveler.

Perfect For: Wine enthusiasts who want to learn how to taste wine in a way that makes you feel like a refined scholar—just with more alcohol and fewer boring lectures.

2. The Horizontal Tasting: Tasting Red Wine Across the Board (A.K.A. “Who Wore It Best?”)

Ready to challenge your palate? Horizontal tastings are like a wine lover’s fashion show—except here, everyone’s an award winner. This method involves tasting wine from the same vintage but across different producers, regions, or varietals. It’s an eye-opener that showcases the diversity of a single year’s harvest, and it’s a lot more fun than watching people argue over fashion choices.

How It Works: Choose a vintage—let’s say 2018—and collect bottles of the same varietal, like Malbec, from different vineyards or regions. As you taste each one, you'll notice how geography, winemaking techniques, and even the vineyard’s microclimate can create wines as varied as a celebrity’s red carpet looks. Don’t be shy about playing favorites.

Perfect For: Those who love tasting red wine and want to explore how the same grape can yield vastly different results, depending on where and how it’s grown. Also great for practicing your best “I’m getting notes of...” lines.

3. The Double Blind Tasting: The True Test of Tasting Wine (And Trying Not to Look Like a Know-It-All)

Think you know your stuff? It’s time to put your palate to the test with a blind tasting. This is the ultimate way to hone your wine tasting skills, strip away labels and preconceived notions, and maybe even surprise yourself with how much you actually know—or don’t know. (Spoiler: We’ve all been there.)

How It Works: Cover the bottles with foil or pour the wine into decanters to hide their identities. Taste the wines, take notes, and try to guess the varietal, region, and vintage. It’s a humbling experience that’s as educational as it is entertaining, especially when you realize you just confused a Syrah with a Merlot. Whoops.

Perfect For: Anyone who wants to sharpen their wine tasting abilities and learn how to taste wine without the influence of brand or reputation. Bonus points if you keep a poker face when someone insists that the $10 bottle is the “finest wine I’ve ever had.”

4. The Themed Tasting: Tasting Wine with a Twist (Because Who Doesn’t Love a Good Theme Party?)

Let’s get a little creative, shall we? Themed tastings are all about having fun while you taste wine. Pick a theme—whether it’s wines from a specific region, varietal, or even wines that pair with a particular food—and let your imagination run wild. It’s like Halloween for wine lovers, but with fewer costumes and more Cabernet. Expand your horizon to the whole world of wine.

How It Works: Choose a theme like “Italian Reds” or “Wines to Pair with BBQ.” Gather wines that fit the theme, and let the tasting adventure begin. Add a twist by incorporating food pairings, music, or even costumes that match the theme. Who’s up for a toga party with Italian reds? Anyone?

Perfect For: Social wine tastings where the goal is to enjoy wine in a relaxed, fun atmosphere. It’s an excellent way to discover new wines and make the experience memorable—because who doesn’t remember the night they drank Syrah in a toga?

5. The Sensory Tasting: Elevating Wine Tasting to an Art Form (Or at Least Something That Sounds Really Fancy)

Ready to take your wine tasting to the next level? Sensory tastings engage all your senses, turning the act of tasting wine into a full-body experience. This method is all about immersing yourself in the wine’s story through sight, smell, taste, and even touch. (Yes, touch—just don’t start caressing the wine bottle. That’s weird.)

How It Works: Begin by observing the wine’s color and clarity. Swirl the glass and inhale deeply, picking up on the subtle aromas. Take a small sip, letting the wine coat your mouth. Pay attention to the texture—how it feels on your palate. Consider the wine’s weight, balance, and finish. Some sensory tastings even include pairing wine with textures, sounds, or scents to enhance the experience. Use your sense of smell. Just make sure you’re not the one who ends up mistaking a scented candle for a bouquet of wildflowers. It happens.

Perfect For: Wine connoisseurs who want to explore the depths of how to taste wine, focusing on the sensory aspects that make each wine unique. It’s like wine tasting, but with a spa day vibe. Who knew you could get so zen with a glass of Malbec?

Conclusion: There’s More to Tasting Wine Than Meets the Eye (Or the Glass)

At Resistance Wine Company, we believe that art of wine tasting should be anything but ordinary. Whether you're indulging in a classic vertical tasting, exploring the diversity of a horizontal tasting, testing your skills with a blind tasting, having fun with a themed tasting, or immersing yourself in a sensory tasting experience, there’s always something new to discover. So next time you're planning various types of wine tasting strategies, remember—zag where others zig, and you’ll find a world of flavor (and fun) waiting to be explored.

And if you're ever in Southern Oregon, don't forget to stop by our tasting room in Ashland. We’d love to guide you through one of these styles of wine tasting experiences, showcasing the best of what the Rogue Valley AVA has to offer. Whether you’re tasting red wine, tasting white wine, or just looking for new things to do, Resistance Wine Company has you covered.