We know that this is a challenging time for so many right now. Hopefully you’re day-dreaming about when you can take a vacation once again and enjoy the sunshine and scenery of Napa Valley. We can’t wait to see smiles and laughter throughout our little slice of paradise!
While we stay home to stay safe, why not bring a little bit of Napa Valley to you? It’s time to gather your friends and family (virtually of course) and have a little wine tasting fun!
There are plenty of ways to go on a virtual wine tasting, including attending Wine Tastings held over Zoom by professional Wineries and Vintners, or even hosting your own Zoom Wine Tasting.
Napa Valley Wineries Hosting Virtual Tastings
If you’re able to help support Napa Valley wineries and vintners, there are plenty that are offering steep discounts and even free shipping on their wines! Below is a small sampling of some Napa Valley Wineries that have great sales or offer some sweet gear with the tasting kits, and are hosting Zoom tastings!
- Matthiasson, Napa, California (one-on-one and group tastings)
- Named Napa’s Winemaker of the Year in 2014, Steve Matthiasson and his wife Jill found a way to re-open their tasting room – virtually! Order a 6 pack of tastings and they’ll offer one-on-one or group tastings of their wine. It’s 18% off and you get free shipping!
Check it out here: https://www.matthiasson.com/wines/detail?item=spring-2020-tasting-6-pack
- Clos du Val, Napa, California
- Clos du Val will not only ship you wine, they’ll also ship gear like the Coravin Model One, a wine preservation system used by restaurants to keep wine fresh for up to 3 months! That’s pretty is great if you’re not in the mood to drink a full bottle. Once you purchase your wine tasting kit, they’ll get in touch to schedule your personal tasting!
Check it out here: https://www.closduval.com/product/Virtual-Tasting-Pack—Mixed
- Belden Barns, Sonoma County, California
- Belden Barns is offering free wine tastings every Sunday at 5pm PST until May 24th! You can purchase their entire portfolio of 11 wines for 35% off, and enjoy each week as they explore a new bottle for the tasting.
Check it out here: https://www.beldenbarns.com/product/virtual-tasting-11-wine-package
Super Budget Friendly Option! Host Your Own Virtual Tasting
Below is an easy guide on how to organize a tasting, what you’ll need, and some easy steps to make you look like a master host.
First things first, decide on what wines you’re going to taste! We recommend going with a theme, so choosing based on the vintage (which brand it is), the origin (wine from Chile vs wine from Napa), variety (white or red), or style (still or sparkling, dry or sweet).
After choosing your theme, pick your wines! We’d recommend no more than 5. If you’re doing a virtual tasting with friends, try to settle on a theme that’s accessible to everyone, but don’t worry if not everyone is drinking the same thing. This is all about having fun with friends anyways!
If you want to get next level with your tasting, try to pair your wines with snacks! A charcuterie plate is always a great place to start, with some deli meats, cheese, and dried fruits.
Next up is finding a platform to host your tasting! Zoom is a great option, with unlimited free 40 minute meetings. Zoom is great because it can hold up to 300 people per meeting (wow, that’s a party!), but if you have a smaller group (4 or less) you can always go with Facetime or even Facebook messenger. Find a platform that works well for you!
After you’ve chosen your wines and snacks, gathered all your friends, and found your hosting platform, the last thing you need to get started is your score sheets! This is where you can keep track of things like taste and aroma, and compare your overall scores of your wines. Don’t worry – we made printable tasting kits for you and your friends so you don’t need to worry about building anything! Download those here: Tasting Kit, Tasting Mat
With that, you’re all set to host your very own wine tasting from the comfort of your home. The most important thing to remember is have fun! If you’re hosting on Zoom, try changing your background screen to the hillside of Napa. Or you can add in a trivia element to add some flair to the tasting! No matter what, we hope you and your friends have a great time.
When the circumstances are right, we’ll be here for you so that you can go savor the gift of wine tastings in person, gathered with all your friends and family, enjoying the sound of laughter, the sight of bustling tasting rooms, and the feeling of a warm embrace. Until then, we’ll do our best to help you dream about those sunny days ahead.
