Yes, it’s come to virtual happy hours. Around the country—and even world—friends are coming together on the virtual conference platform Zoom to clink glasses and unwind from their shelter-in-place days. To help liven up your next “get together” and to ensure the conversation sticks to something other than COVID-19, here are some wine tasting ideas and games for your next Zoom Happy Hour!
Virtual Wine Tasting Idea No. 1 | Guess Who?
For this game, everyone should grab a favorite bottle of wine and take turns describing what’s in your glass to the others until someone can guess what you’re drinking. Be creative! In addition to describing flavors, sensations and giving geographical hints, you can also try themes like these:
If this wine were a song, it would be …ie Peggy Lee’s Big Spender (for a pricey bottle)
If this wine were a celebrity, it would be… ie Kim Kardashian (for a full-bodied wine)
If this wine were a book, it would be…ie Thich Nhat Hanh book (for a mediation wine)
If this wine politician, it would be... ie Trump (for an orange wine)
NOTE: If you want to make things competitive, come up with a prize for the person who guesses the most correctly.
Virtual Wine Tasting Idea No. 2 | 10 Questions
Another wine tasting guessing game that came to mind is 10 Questions; it functions exactly the same as—you may have already guessed—20 Questions.
The breakdown: Choose one person to be “it” and everyone else takes turns asking them a yes-or-no question about their selected wine until 10 questions have been asked, or until someone guesses the wine (the region and the grape variety/ies will do, but you can also shoot for appellation and producer, and even vintage).
If the wine has not been guessed at this point, everyone should take a stab at what it is (bonus points for being inventive!)
Some questions to get you started: Are you an Old World wine? Are you from Italy? Are you a red wine? Are you a sparkling wine? Are you made in a cool climate? Have we had this wine together before? Did you bring this wine back from your trip to Spain last year?
NOTE: Do a little prep work on your wine, so that you can knowledgeably answer the questions.
Virtual Wine Tasting Idea No. 3 | Judgement of Paris: Blind Tasting
This one is fun. You get to create a version of the famous Judgement of Paris, the title given to the 1976 wine competition between French and American wines in which a group of French judges blindly tasted 20 wines and gave the first place in both the red and white wine categories to American wines.
How to play: Each household buys a bottle of French wine and a bottle of Californian wine roughly from the same grape/ grape blend and year, and covers them in paper bags or even the fancy black velvet blind tasting bottle bags if you have them. Mix them up in whatever way you can and pour yourself a glass of each and discuss with your friends on Zoom the flavors of the wines (fruity, earthy, floral, etc.), the structure (levels of acidity and tannins), the body (how voluptuous it feels in your mouth), and the noticeable differences between the two wines.
When everyone has gone around and shared which of their two bottles they prefer, do an unveiling and tally up the points for France or California. The most theatrical of your friends can then declare the winner in his/her best French-English accent.
BONUS: If you plan ahead, you can work with a local wine shop or restaurant that does delivery and all get the same two wines—or go crazy and source the wines that were in the original competition, like Ridge and Chateau Montelena.
Virtual Wine Tasting Idea No. 4 | Rare/ Underdog Grape Variety Drink-and-Tell
Did you know there are hundreds of grape varieties that make commercial wines—the vast majority of them are found in Italy, but many countries make wines from grape varieties only sommeliers have heard of before (and sometimes we aren’t even in the know!)
Why not use some of this newfound free time thanks to social distancing and explore a little?—you may even find a new favorite!
How it works: Ask your neighborhood wine shop or restaurant to pick out something esoteric (perhaps based on wines you like), then do some research on the grape variety and region it comes from. When you and your friends get together on Zoom, take turns presenting your rare grape variety along with your tasting notes and opinion.
BONUS: Order some of the wines that sounded the best to you, asking your friends for their wine sources.
Virtual Wine Tasting Idea No. 5 | Regional Party Series
This is another wine tasting idea that celebrates diversity as well as the beautiful, fascinating, breath-taking places that call to your soul…but, which are unattainable at the present moment. For the moment, travel by what’s in your glass instead!
As this can be a series, take turns among your Zoom Happy Hour friends selecting a wine region to delve into. When it’s your turn, provide your friends with a list of wines from your selected region. For example, the Veneto in Italy makes Prosecco, Soave, Valpolicella, Amarone, Bardolino, Lugana…the list goes on. Everyone should choose a bottle they are interested in and crack it open at the next Zoom Happy Hour. Go around and share a few notes about what you are drinking—and possibly even start planning a group trip there for next year!
Prosecco Hills in Valdobbiadene, Veneto, Italy
About Leslie Rosa, Author
Leslie Rosa is a certified Sommelier and Founder of La Dolce Vigna, a boutique wine + culture tour company that offers small group and private trips to Italy, Argentina and California. Her tours impart a full sense of place through family-run and historic wineries, regional cuisine, stunning natural scenery, charming hotels, and, of course, colorful characters! When not leading tours, you can find Leslie entertaining customers at pop-up wine tastings in the Bay Area, writing for Slow Wine Guide and Wine Tourist Magazine, getting lost someplace beautiful with her travel watercolor set and maybe even dancing tango! (Well, not right now #shelterinplace). Follow her on Instagram @ladolcevigna and check out her tours below.
