Tasting Rooms
The tasting room will likely be your first stop. Wineries with extensive visitor programs may have a reception area set apart from the tasting room. If you have booked a tour, visit the reception office first.
Winery tasting rooms are not necessarily located at the wineries themselves. Some wineries pool their resources and open cooperative tasting rooms in nearby towns. In addition to wine tasting, many tasting rooms will also have souvenirs available for purchase. Larger wineries will have a separate retail store. If you do choose to purchase a bottle of wine after your tasting, some wineries will apply the tasting fee toward your wine purchases. Larger wineries may also have more than one tasting room. One tasting room might be for club members, another might offer wines not available in the marketplace, and still another might serve the estate's more widely distributed bottles.
Wine drinkers can be nervous about their first winery visit. But their fears usually disappear as soon as they enter the tasting room. When you walk into a tasting room, you'll be greeted by a member of the tasting staff who will enthusiastically tell you about the winery and the wines. She may suggest a tasting order or hand you a menu organizing the available wines based on varietal, vintage, or appellation. If a tasting order isn't suggested to you, start with whites, advance to reds, and finish with sweet wines.
You don't have to try all the wines. If you're a fan of a particular varietal, say Chardonnay, you may want to sample just those at each winery. This technique can help you learn how different vineyards, different vintages, and different winemakers affect taste. The strategy will give you a greater understanding of that varietal.
Only a small amount of wine — perhaps an ounce — will be poured into your glass. Keep in mind that you are in a tasting room, not a bar. Besides, these one-ounce tastings add up quickly. On the other hand, you may not want to drink the entire amount, preferring to move on to the next wine. Wineries understand this, which is why they should have spittoons available.
Pitchers of water should be available automatically. The water is also for rinsing your glass between wines or between types of wines, such as when you go from whites to reds. Just pour a little water into your glass, swirl it around, and dump it out in the bucket. Alternatively, you can drink the water to refresh your palate before the next wine. If you see a bowl of crackers on the counter, they're for cleansing your palate as well.
Once again, you will not offend the tasting room attendant if you spit or dump out wine. It's perfectly acceptable — and expected.
