Date Night at Home: Wine Tasting

Are you planning a date night at home? A wine tasting is a great option. It’s interactive, fun and will feel special enough to really impress your date. Whether you are a sommelier-in-training or a wine novice, you can plan the perfect experience from start to finish with ease using these tips.

Choosing Your Wines

Start by deciding if you want to taste white wines, red wines or a combination of both. You might even want to throw a sparkling wine in! Another option is to theme your tasting around sweet or bold varietals or by the region the wines come from. Not sure what you’ll enjoy the most? Check out this guide to learn more about the flavors of 15 common wines.

Shopping for Wine

Next, you’ll have to decide which bottle to go with. You can learn a lot about a wine from its label. Look for information about the producer, brand, varietal, alcohol content, growing region, year and bottler. Learn more about how these elements impact the wine here.

Tasting Wines

Sure, wine tastes good without even knowing what you’re looking for. But to get a real appreciation of what’s in your glass, just follow five simple steps — see, swirl, sniff, sip (and swish) and spit/savor. By following these steps, you’ll notice things about the color, scent and taste of the wine that will make you enjoy it even more.

If you’re familiar with wine and looking for a challenge, a blind tasting is always fun! Simply place each wine bottle in a paper bag, pour, taste and ponder! Try to guess the type of wine and see if you can even pick out the growing region or date.

Pairing Wine

A date night isn’t complete without food! It can be fun to choose foods that pair well with your wines. Whether you want to serve fish, pasta or even chocolate, there’s a wine pairing for you! The limits are truly endless, and Publix makes it easy to plan — use this chart as your ultimate guide to pairing.

Storing Leftover Wine

If you end up with some extra wine, don’t fret! While opened wine doesn’t last forever, if properly stored it will be drinkable for a day or two after opening. Simply re-cork the bottle and store it in the refrigerator, whether it is white or red. Be sure to pull red wine out of the fridge for several minutes before serving. If you miss out on enjoying your wine while it’s still at its peak, it can still make a great addition to many recipes.

For leftover sparkling wine, you have a couple of options. Purchase a clamshell-style stopper to preserve the bubbly for a few days. Otherwise, store in the refrigerator uncorked and enjoy mimosas the next morning or the following evening at dinner.

Drink Responsibly. Be 21.