![\"The](\"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/Parker-Binns-Tasting-Room-960x640-300x200.jpg\")
The tasting room at Parker-Binns Vineyard – Photo Courtesy of Karen Parker-Binns<\/p><\/div>\n
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- Plan ahead! Check the winery\u2019s hours. You don\u2019t want to arrive within 30 minutes of closing and expect to taste. Most wineries stop tasting 30 minutes before closing. Some require a reservation.<\/li>\n
- Walk in and take a look around. If there\u2019s line, patiently wait. Determine if you need to prepay for your tasting.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t prematurely judge the experience by the look of the tasting room. We\u2019ve had plenty of great tastings at hole in the wall wineries. The opposite is also true. The most opulent tasting room doesn\u2019t necessarily mean the best wine.<\/li>\n
- Make your choices. Select a variety of wines. If you like sweet wine, pick at least one dry and vice versa. The same can be said for red vs white.<\/li>\n
- If a premium tasting is an option, take it. It\u2019s premium for a reason.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t be afraid to ask to taste something that\u2019s not on a list. Often wineries will accommodate special requests.<\/li>\n
- It\u2019s ok to share with a friend. This is especially true if you\u2019re doing multiple tastings in a day. Most wineries allow this and will even split the amounts between glasses, so you don\u2019t have to share one glass.<\/li>\n
- It\u2019s ok to pour out wine even if you like it. Again, if you\u2019re driving and\/or doing multiple tastings in one day, you need to be able to remember what you\u2019ve been tasting. Otherwise, you might end buying a bottle of wine you\u2019ll hate later.<\/li>\n
- It\u2019s ok to spit. This is another alternative to sharing and\/or pouring out. If you\u2019re not comfortable spitting directly in the dump bucket, ask for a small cup or another glass. Spit in that and then pour into the dump bucket.<\/li>\n
- This aerates the wine. It helps to open the wine up to its full smelling and tasting potential.<\/li>\n
- You taste what you smell. Try to pick out at least two distinct smells.<\/li>\n
- Check out the color, Color will tell you a lot about the health of the wine. You don\u2019t want a red wine that\u2019s got a brown edge. That means it\u2019s likely too old.<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t gulp!<\/li>\n
- Hold the wine in your mouth for at least a second before swallowing or spitting. Do the tastes match the smells? Is there a difference between what you taste initially, the mid palate taste and the finish? Is the finish long or short?<\/li>\n
- Take notes! You want to be able to remember what you\u2019ve been tasting. This will also help you later if you buy a bottle and want to pair it with food.<\/li>\n
- Have a cracker between different wines. You need to cleanse your palate. If crackers or other palate cleansers are not readily available, ask for them!<\/li>\n
- Don\u2019t bring your children. Children are a HUGE distraction in tasting rooms. If they can\u2019t drink the wine, they don\u2019t belong there.<\/li>\n
- Be considerate of other tasters. Respect their space and their ears. Don\u2019t be too loud.<\/li>\n
- Wine tasting should not be a way to get drunk! Don\u2019t just gulp the wine. Your taster will not appreciate that and may refuse to serve you if you\u2019re too far gone.<\/li>\n
- Engage with your taster. Ask questions about the wine. This helps your learn!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
These are just a few suggestions to make the most out of your wine tasting experience! Let us know what you think! Cheers!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Visiting a winery\u2019s tasting room is one of life\u2019s simple pleasures. Each experience is unique. It\u2019s a great way to experience a variety of wine and find something new to drink. If you\u2019ve never had the experience or if it\u2019s been awhile, here are some suggestions to make the most of your wine tasting experience.Continue reading →<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1152,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[380],"tags":[271,269,270],"class_list":["post-1151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-north-carolina-wine","tag-front-page","tag-our-thoughts","tag-wine-etiquette","has-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1151"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1153,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151\/revisions\/1153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ncwineguys.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}