Host A Rosé Wine Tasting
My family and I have been coming up with new ideas to try over the past few weeks while being stuck at home. Something we love to do on the weekends is go wine tasting, but since we can’t do that, we decided to bring the wine tasting home to us. There are so many wine varieties, so we chose to narrow it down to rosé. Of course we had to include food and a cocktail as well to make it the full experience. So if you’re looking for something to do at home and you like wine, why not have an at-home wine tasting! You can make it as simple or as extravagant as you want. Here are a few ideas of how to put on a wine tasting in your home.
Things To Know About Rosé
If you are going to have a wine tasting at home, you should probably know a little background about the wine varieties you are planning to have. There are many misconceptions about rosé wine and how it is made, so here a few fun facts about rosé.
It is very affordable
You can find a bottle of rosé no matter what your price range is.
It comes from many different regions
France, Italy, California, and Spain are some of the most common ones.
It pairs well with many foods
It depends what type of rosé you are having but, dry rosés pair well with light salads, light pastas, grilled chicken, soft and creamy cheeses like brie, goat, or burrata, pizzas, seafood, and the list goes on!
Rosé wine isn’t meant to be aged more than a few years.
It is best to drink rosé wines while they are young because they are at their peak. So drink your rosé sooner rather than later.
There are 3 different processes to make rosé
Maceration-This is when the juice of the grapes stay in contact with the skins anywhere from a few hours to a few days depending on the desired color.
Saignee- Saignee, which translates to bleeding in French, happens early in the red wine making process. They take the excess juice and it bleeds into a new vat to start the rosé wine making process.
Blending-Blending is pretty much just what it sounds like, it is the process of adding some red wine to a vat of white wine. This is very uncommon and actually banned in some regions.
Choose Your Wines
We chose 4 different varieties for our tasting to really appreciate the differences, but you can choose whichever you prefer. Here are a few rosé wine varieties:
Sangiovese
Sparkling
Syrah
Pinot Noir
Grenache
Cinsault
Make a Cocktail
It wouldn’t be a party without a cocktail so I decided to make a batch of sangria for us to sip on after our tasting. I wanted it to be both refreshing and delicious so I opted for a fruit filled rosé sangria.
Rosé Sangria
1 bottle of rosé
1 cup vodka
1 cup water, ¼ cup sugar, 2 cups strawberries
Top with 3 cups sparkling water
Strawberries and raspberries
Optional: Fill ice cube tray with raspberries and water. Let freeze overnight.
Add strawberries, sugar, and water to the saucepan. Let simmer for 10 minutes, then mash the strawberries down as much as possible.
Let cool, then pour mixture through a fine strainer for a perfectly smooth consistency.
Add rosé wine, vodka, strawberry puree, sparkling water, fruit, and ice to a pitcher. Mix well and serve.
Plan Your Menu
As mentioned above, rosé is very versatile when it comes to food pairings. You should plan your menu around the theme of your wine tasting whether it will be more of a main meal or just appetizers. Whichever you choose, be sure to let your guests know in advance so they aren't tasting wines on an empty stomach. We put together an appetizer board with cheeses, cured meats, pickled things, veggies, fresh and dried fruits, crackers, and nuts. I think boards filled with a variety of different things at a party are always a good idea. I also served a tomato and mozzarella salad that could be eaten alone or on crostini.
What You’ll Need
Aside from the food and wine, there are other supplies you will need for your at home wine tasting. Other than the wine glasses, you can omit anything else that you may not have at your house already.
Rosé wine glasses (if you don’t have any, white wine glasses will work just fine)
Champagne flutes (if you are serving a sparkling variety)
Water glasses
Water pitcher
Wine pour spouts
Wine opener
Foil Cutter
Tasting templates and pens
Descriptions/background of each wine
Party tub with ice to keep bottles cold
Decorations
Flowers