You’re excited to find the best wine tasting events in Melbourne are coming and you have an opportunity to attend. You’ve always wanted to attend wine tasting events but never had the chance before, but here it comes!

Before you get too excited, there are some important things you should know before you attend this event. Read on to see key knowledge anyone attending a wine tasting event for the first time needs to know.

1. This is Not a Drinks Party

There are a lot of people who consider “wine tasting” to be some kind of code for a fancy drinks party. Nothing could be further from the truth. A wine tasting event is actually quite a meaningful event, which while enjoyable is not simply a chance to try lots of different wines and get tipsy.

For one, large-scale wine tasting events are attended by restaurant sommeliers, as well as owners and operators in the hospitality industry, scouting new local wines to use in their establishments. On a smaller scale, they are a chance for enthusiasts to get together, try different wines and share their real views on their aroma, taste and characteristics.

So, before you attend a wine tasting event, be sure that you know what the event is all about.

2. Eat Something Before You Go

If the wine tasting event is held at a local vineyard, then there’s a good chance that their own attached eatery will be catering the event, in which case you can eat something while you’re there to stave off the drunkening effects of the alcohol. If you’ll be sampling more than half a dozen wines, for instance, even when it’s a tiny amount of each, you can start to feel drunk faster if you do it on an empty stomach.

Don’t eat anything too overpowering or spicy, because it will ruin your palate before the wine tasting. Keep pre-wine food simple in taste and construction! Protein-rich foods are best.

3. Don’t Wear Anything Too Expensive, and Bring a Spare Top

Once again, this isn’t a party, but at any typical wine tasting you’ll be lifting and drinking from many glasses, and possibly holding the glasses up, swirling them around a little, and so on. In short, there’s lots of opportunity for wine to spill and get on your clothing. It doesn’t even have to be from your own glass. Even after drinking, there’s the action of moving the wine around your mouth, passing it through your teeth, etc, all of which can result in spills.

Therefore, keep clothing simple, and bring a spare something just in case an accident does happen. Better to have it and not need it than vice versa.

4. Understand the Arrangement

Not all wine tasting events are arranged in the same way when it comes to pricing. A common deal is that you pay a fixed amount to sample once all the different wines that you want, and perhaps some light finger food is thrown in as part of the deal. If you order additional food or drink at the event, there might be charges. Don’t think this is always some open-bar event.

Some venues use wine tasting as a way to bring you to the location, and after the wine tasting invite you to stay for dinner and/or to buy bottles of the wines you’ve sampled. Always understand how the costs are going to work, and be ready.

5. Think About Questions You Might Ask

Wine tasting events always go down better for everyone when you can really participate in proceedings, and that means being ready with some questions you have about the wine. You could ask about its production, flavours, origin, what kind of foods it pairs with, and so on. You’ll get more out of the event if you have some ideas on things you really want to know.