Virtual Wine Tasting

Not all wine tastings are created alike. How would you like to participate in an international wine tasting but in your pajamas, in the comfort of your own home? It may sound strange but it is now a reality, thanks to the Internet. Virtual wine tastings are starting to become more and more popular. But, exactly what are they?

Well, virtual wine tastings can take several different forms. At its most basic, you drink wine at your home and then report your results online. There is commonly a central website that initiates the virtual wine tasting, and where all of the reports are sent. Usually, this website will select a theme for the wine tasting, such as a particular varietal or wine region. And that theme remains in effect for a set period of time, often a month. During that month, you can drink as many or as few of the related wines as you wish. People all over the world may participate. At the end of the month, there will be a collection of wine reviews on that month’s theme.

Let me give you an example of a virtual wine tasting where I participate. Catavino is an excellent Spanish and Portuguese wine blog. They run monthly virtual wine tastings of Spanish and Portuguese wines. June’s theme is wines of the Bierzo region of Spain. During the entire month of June, you drink wines from that region and then post your tasting notes on their forum. You can discuss and compare your tastings with the other participants. It can be quite enjoyable.

Other wine blogs and websites run their own virtual tastings as well. Now, some of these other sites choose a different format. Tastoria runs monthly virtual tasting events, though they are not free. You have to purchase a tasting kit at a local wine store to participate. (I have not tried Tastoria yet so I do not know how much it costs for their kit.) Then, you purchase wines specific to the tasting event. At the time of the event, you log onto your computer and watch a live tasting of the wines you bought. You have the ability to speak to the people hosting the event, to ask questions about the wines. In a similar vein, some other wine sites have free chat rooms so that participants can chat about the wines in the virtual tastings.

Virtual wine tastings are limited only by the imagination and can be quite diverse. They are good ways to interact with other wine enthusiasts. You can feel like a part of a larger wine loving community. They can also be good to get you to try different wines, wines you might not usually taste. If you cannot make it to actual wine tastings at local wine stores, then you probably can still participate in virtual tastings. They are generally not pretentious either, so anyone can simply post their thoughts on the wines, no matter how basic their thoughts may be. So give a virtual wine tasting a try.

This topic also gets me thinking in a different vein. What about virtual food tastings? Or virtual restaurant tastings? A topic to ponder over and maybe discuss at a later time.