Refine your wine palate with free Friday wine tastings across the NH Seacoast

There's no way around it. The best (and some would argue the only) way you can really learn about wine is to taste it. While reading about wine and getting wine advice from experts is certainly helpful when it comes to your wine education, as the old adage goes, "you've got to get your hands dirty," or in this case, your palate.

What is a palate? Technically and scientifically, your palate is just the roof of your mouth. However, in the food and wine world your palate refers more to your sense of taste (i.e. - "The Sommelier has a refined palate."). While you pretty much have to take what you've got when it comes to your scientific palate (read: the roof of your mouth), there are things you can do to refine your wine palate (read: your sense of taste of wine), and number one among those things is to taste a lot of wine.

"But, VinoGirl," you ask, "how can I taste a lot of wine without breaking my bank?" No sweat. Check out all of these great FREE wine tasting opportunities you can casually hit up every Friday across the New Hampshire Seacoast:

Durham Marketplace's Vintage Port Wine (7 Mill Road, Durham) hosts FREE wine tastings every Friday from 4:30-6:00pm
Butler's Pantry at Fiddlehead Farms Marketplace (920 Central Ave, Dover) hosts FREE wine tastings almost every Friday (check website for details) from 4:00-6:30pm
Dover Wine Company (364 Central Ave, Dover) hosts FREE wine tastings every Friday from 4:00-6:30pm (AND on Saturdays from 1-4pm!)
Attrezzi (78 Market Street, Portsmouth) hosts more FREE wine tastings almost 7 days a week during business hours.
Cornucopia Wine and Cheese Market (4 Front Street, Exeter) hosts FREE wine and cheese tastings every Friday from 4:00-7:00pm

One thing that all of these FREE wine tastings have in common (aside from being FREE) is that they are casual in nature - you don't have to get dressed up, you don't have to punch a clock, you don't have to sit formally with other wine tasters and compare no

tes...all you have to do is show up during the posted hours and ask for a pour!

A word to the wise: A wine tasting being FREE and creating a casual atmosphere does not give you license to abandon general etiquette. Here are some tips to help you (and others around you) get the most out of any FREE wine tasting:

Be polite, request only one pour of each wine you would like to taste. These wine tastings are just that - TASTINGS. If the intention was to pour full glasses, they would call it a "wine drinking" (cue rim shot). The appropriate tasting size is between 1 and 2 ounces, which is usually what the wine representative will pour. It is only appropriate to ask for a second taste if you truly have the intention to buy that bottle and you just want to be 100% confident you are purchasing the correct one. Plus, you most likely will be driving to and from these tastings, and, as always, it is of the utmost important that you drink responsibly and drive responsibly.
Listen to the wine representative who is pouring the wine. They can usually tell you much, much more about the wine you're tasting than what is listed on the label. Don't be afraid to ask questions.
Before you gulp down that 1- to 2-ounce pour, take a moment to experience the wine with your other senses. Look at the color of the wine. Look at the thickness of the wine. Smell the wine. This is key to refining your wine palate, as both sight and scent play an integral role in the tasting process. Once you do taste the wine, don't just swallow it. Swish it around in your mouth (like mouthwash!) so that it coats your entire mouth.
Tell the wine representative what you do or don't like about the wine after you've tasted it. Their reactions can provide key insights as to why a specific wine tastes the way it does, which will be more information for you to "record" on your palate.
Most wine tasting setups will include a "spit bucket" on the table where the wine is being served. It is generally the case in these establishments that you should not spit into the bucket, but instead use it to pour out any remaining wine in your glass that you don't want to finish. If you really want to taste wine like a pro and do the whole spitting thing, request another cup/glass from the wine representative to use as your own personal spit bucket.
If you're seriously interested in developing your palate, bring a small notebook and a pen with you and record what you taste. Write down your reactions to the wine. What did you see? What did you smell? What did you taste? Note what you experienced at the front-end of the taste and on the finish of the taste. Be sure to document vintage years in your notes, as well; there are few things more exciting to a wine-o than tasting a 2005 Pinot Noir from a specific label then getting to taste the same label's 2006 vintage and compare notes.

So, when the clock hits 5:00pm this Friday and you've submitted your last TPS Report, grab your keys and head to one or two of these FREE wine tastings across the NH Seacoast. Your palate will thank you.

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Jen Scumaci, CEO and Cause Entrepreneur for viaONEHOPE, has lived in the New Hampshire Seacoast area for over a decade. Jen's passion for wine began in 2002 when she went to her first wine tasting and it blew her mind. Since then, she has been on a professional journey that has included sales and marketing with The Traveling Vineyard, facilitating wine tasting events, writing as The Portsmouth Wine Examiner, and working on Borghese Vineyard and Winery (Long Island's first vineyard located on the North Fork) as the wine club and marketing coordinator. When she's not doing wine things, Jen keeps her tank full with coffee and craft beer, works in Portsmouth as a full-time project manager, is a mobile DJ, and loves hanging out with her fiancée and their two crazy pugs.

Original article posted at Portsmouth Wine Examiner.