Wine tasting with friends? Why not! But is it difficult to organize, and do you need to know something about wines? Not at all. Tasting sounds fancy, but it's even more fun and easier than that!
You can start wine tasting very simply by choosing a few wines that interest you and inviting some good company to explore the wonderful world of wine tasting.
You can organize your own wine tasting on your couch or at the dining table, and enjoy good food at the same time. Wines often taste different with food, or they can pair especially well with certain dishes. And you'll only find out by trying!
You can choose the wines to taste yourself or try ready-made tasting sets. We especially recommend ready-made sets for beginners, where the wines suitable for tasting have been designed to complement each other and come with a printable tasting sheet that includes information about the wines, space for notes, and marked spots for glasses. If you want more good tips for organizing your own wine tasting, you can find them here!
When you start the tasting, first try what the wine tastes like on its own. You can start by swirling the wine a little in the glass and sniffing to see what you notice in its aroma. Does the wine have, for example, fruitiness or floral notes? Then taste the wine – what does it taste like? Does the flavor match the wine's aroma? There are no right or wrong answers, so write down whatever comes to mind! After that, test how the wine pairs with different foods. Do you notice the wine tasting different?
For a low-threshold tasting set, we recommend, for example, the Basic Flavors Exploration tasting, which includes three wines: one dry white wine, a semi-dry white wine, and a sweet sparkling wine for dessert. Would this suit you? Let's take a look at what kind of trio we're talking about!
Hacienda Lopez De Haro Viura
A good rule of thumb in wine tasting is to start with dry wines and move on to sweeter ones.
The first wine in the Basic Flavors Exploration tasting menu is the dry Hacienda Lopez de Haro Viura, which has been custom-made for the demanding Finnish palate. Viura is still often underrated as a grape, even though it produces fine wines that age and develop beautifully, especially in the Rioja region of Northern Spain. Hacienda Lopez de Haro Viura is a good example of quality Viura, a fine all-rounder for the dinner table and a great wine for socializing. What does it taste like? And the aroma?
You can find price and product information here.
Crudo Catarratto-Zibibbo
Next, our journey continues to the "squid wine," Crudo Catarratto-Zibibbo. This semi-dry wine from Italy comes from sunny Sicily, where the grapes get plenty of warmth and the wine becomes wonderfully fruity. It's a good wine for socializing, and you can also try it with a wide range of foods: with Asian cuisine, mild cheeses, white meat, oysters, mussels or squid, and many kinds of salads. A great tasting wine that will surely spark many observations with different foods!
You can find price and product information here.
Tosti Asti Dolce
For dessert and as the cherry on top, we serve Tosti Asti Dolce! The Tosti winery is perhaps best known for this classic sweet sparkling wine. The popular bubbly is pleasant and approachable, and it's masterfully skilled with desserts. Strawberry cream cake, sweet fruits, berries, or even fruit salad are Tosti Asti Dolce's favorite companions.
A sweet sparkling wine and dessert service is a great way to end the tasting round. Until next time and new tastings!
You can find price and product information here.
Order the wines for this tasting!
Ordering is easy. By clicking "Go to order," you'll be taken to Alko's online store, where these wines are already searched for you. You can add the wines you want to your shopping cart and choose delivery to your preferred store. Alko handles the order and delivery is free of charge.
