
Some people like beer goggles, but we prefer wine glasses. How are you adjusting to the “new normal?” We initially restricted ourselves to virtual parties. In July, we started hosting and attending small gatherings outdoors. Last month, we started outdoor dining with a friend or two. This week, we partnered with Trinitas Cellars for a special Fall wine tasting. We are excited to share our tips on how to host a wine tasting at home with you.
The Busch Family founded Trinitas in 2002 in Napa Valley. The wines are crafted in the iconic California style. We worked with Sonyia Grabski to select the wines for this tasting at home:
- 2017 Sauvignon Blanc
- 2016 Chardonnay
- 2017 Pinot Noir
- 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon

How to Host a Wine Tasting at Home?
Our color scheme featured shades of golden yellow, burnt orange and vibrant greens. We dressed the table with Williams Sonoma’s botanical pumpkin and gourd tablecloths and napkins and Crate and Barrel’s wooden napkin rings.

What are the Best Glasses for a Wine Tasting at Home?
Most wine aficionados can spot the difference between a red wine glass and a white wine glass. It doesn’t matter if the wine glass is stemmed or stemless. What really matters is how the shape of the glass collects aromas. Stemware consists of 3 parts:
- Bowl – 3 variables: shape, size and rim diameter. Larger bowls allow for more oxidation and allow for easier smell and swirl. The smaller the bowl, the harder it is for aromas to escape
- Stem – height and width form the glass’ architecture
- Base – lower part of the glass that keeps it standing upright and holds the wine’s weight

The shape of the wine glass also impacts how the wine drinker sips the wine. A red wine glass mitigates the tannins or spicy flavors of a wine, while white wine glasses preserve floral aromas, maintain cooler temperature and deliver more aromas.

We sipped our Trinitas wines with Riedel’s Performance Tasting Set. This collection includes glasses crafted for Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.

These glasses accent the four sensations in wine:
- Bouquet (aroma)
- Texture (watery, silky, velvety)
- Flavor (fruit, acidity, minerality, bitterness)
- Finish (aftertaste)

How to Pair Wine with Cheese?
It’s not a wine tasting without the accompanying cheese and charcuterie platter. We sampled goat cheese, triple cream Brie, gruyere and aged cheddar with crackers, grapes and nuts. For a beautiful cheese board, incorporate cheeses of different color and texture. We recommend you cut the cheese into different shapes (rectangles, squares, triangles). Add the cheese first and then layer bread, crackers, nuts and fruit. A cheese board should have a nice variety of color and texture.

The Trinitas Wine Tasting
Rise and wine. We started with the 2017 Sauvignon Blanc. Immediately, we noticed that the bowl of wine glass was smaller than the others. We paired this wine with a soft goat cheese. This pale wine has notes of Meyer lemon and lycée and flavors of grapefruit and white peach. This light and refreshing wine is perfect for summer and early fall.

Namaste and Chardonnay. The 2016 Chardonnay has a rich, golden color with aromas of lemon curd, dandelion, honey and vanilla. We paired it with Brie, which balanced the intense fruit, texture and energy of this wine.

You had me at Pinot. This elegant and balanced Pinot Noir has aromatics of red cherry and cranberry.

The wine glass has an usual shape and tapers at the top. It paired nicely with the Gruyere.

Slay then cabernet. Our final wine was a Cabernet. This wine has aromas of red cherry with notes of plum, blackberry and spices. This was the heaviest wine with incredible rich flavor. We decanted the wine for a few hours before the wine tasting. The aged cheddar complemented the earthy flavor of this wine. This was our favorite of the wine tasting!

Sip, sip hooray. Here’s some exciting news. We are partnering with Trinitas and Riedel for an incredible virtual wine tasting on November 5th at 5:30PM EST. We will be tasting the Chardonnay and Cabernet. Pricing is $97 for the wine or $210 for a double tasting kit with the Riedel Glasses. Join us for this virtual wine tasting or order these wines and host a wine tasting at home.

I qualify myself like a bottle of wine – the more I get older, the more it tastes sweet!
Patrice Evra
I would love to host a wine tasting party! It would be so fun, especially with all the craziness that’s been going on. I had no idea that different glasses are for different types of wine.
Kileen
Nice post. Honestly, I didn’t know that the shapes of glasses matters when it comes to wine tasting.. Great info.
What a lovely setup, looks like this would be so much fun!
Wine and cheese that is something my mom and dad used to love a lot too – I am not much for wine but do love cheese 🙂
You know how to celebrate: with good food, amazing decor and great company.
This sounds like such a fun thing to do!