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A wine tasting flight is a staple for every wine bar, winery, or bar business. It should include the best type of white wine, the best type of red wine, and every wine in between. Gluten-free and vegan wines can be included as well. When you’re gathering your wine bar supplies, keep your wine tasting flight options in mind. You’ll be prepared for each tasting.
A wine tasting flight and the wine tasting process can be your bread and butter. Learning the process of opening a wine bottle can help you increase the enjoyment for your customers. Your wine bar cabinet and shelf storage should have space for some wine tasting flight tools. If you’re learning how to open a wine bar, a wine tasting flight practice is something you should have in your wine repertoire.
In this BinWise blog post, we’ll walk you through several facets of a wine tasting flight. Once you’ve read through this information, you’ll be ready to host your wine tasting flight with ease.
Setting Up Wine Tasting Flights
Setting up wine tasting flights is a key factor in your job as a wine bar manager or owner. Heck, if you’re a bar owner outside of a wine bar you should learn about wine tasting flight options as well. It’s a way to draw in new crowds and show off your wine collection.
These seven factors of a wine tasting flight are something you should internalize and build into your business plan. They cover different aspects of a wine tasting flight, and they’re all equally important for the overall process.
7. Wine Tasting Notecards
Wine tasting notecards are a key part of giving your customers a robust wine tasting experience. These can be relatively plain, with a few areas for notes on different aspects of each wine. You can give them a design of a wine bottle print.
6. Flight Boards
Flight boards are a base level need for your wine tasting flight. These are the wooden boards with a small circular notch in place for each wine glass or small carafe. You’ll use these time and again, so invest in ones that suit your brand and are well made.
5. Key Notes
Key notes you should provide for a wine tasting flight are the initial tasting notes about the wines in the tasting. This can be a part of the wine tasting notecards. You can also put these notes on a notice board in your wine bar.
4. Wine Pairings
You should provide some snacks to serve as wine pairing options during the tasting. Cheeses, crackers, olives, and some meats are a safe bet. You can also provide notes on what pairs well with each wine.
3. Winery and Region Knowledge
Winery and region knowledge is extra information beyond tasting notes. This is something you should keep in your back pocket. Take it out and share it with guests who have a particular interest in the wine. You’ll find many guests who want to know more about the composition and nature of their tasting wines.
2. Wine Tasting Guidelines
Wine tasting guidelines are something you should have in place, as an internal structure to run a wine tasting flight. These will include the plans and needs we’ve outlined in this post. They’ll also be the place where you can keep rules on the structure of your specific wine tasting events. They will come in handy for your employees.
1. Dedicated Pricing
A wine tasting flight is a unique pricing win-win for you and your customers. It’s a way to turn a profit for you. That will lead to more profits when people buy a bottle of the wine from the tasting. It’s a price break for customers who want to sample several types of wine. You should keep a dedicated price that rides the line between budget-friendly and a profit source for you.
"Key Takeaway: A wine tasting flight is a top tier way to showcase the wines you have to offer and draw in new customers. They can promote your wine in a way that leaves you with great profits."
Frequently Asked Questions About Wine Tasting Flights
Wine tasting flights are a unique experience at wine bars and wineries. From wine tasting room ideas to types of wine you should offer in a tasting, there is a lot of information you should learn. Our answers to these frequently asked questions will give you a head start. From here, you’ll keep learning as you host a wine tasting flight and learn what customers enjoy.
How Much Wine Is In a Tasting Flight?
A wine tasting flight often includes six different types of wine, with 1 to 2 ounces of each wine. This is for a multitude of reasons. One is the cost of a flight to the wine bar. Keeping the amount small helps keep the wine tasting flight profitable.
Another reason is the amount of wine being consumed by the customer. There are rules about how much you can serve to any single person. A small amount of wine in a tasting helps these rules be enforced.
The third reason is the nature of a wine tasting flight. You want customers to enjoy a bit of each wine. The ultimate goal is to find a bottle of wine they want to buy.
What Is the Difference Between a Wine Flight and a Wine Tasting?
There isn’t a difference between a wine flight and a wine tasting. A wine flight is designed to give customers a taste of many types of wine. That’s a wine tasting. The terms are often used by different types of businesses to mean something specific for that brand. At heart, however, a wine flight and a wine tasting are the same thing.
How Do I Host a Wine Flight?
To host a wine flight, you should prepare:
- A wine tasting sheet: this will include information about the wines, and a place for guests to make their own notes.
- Wine pairing options: you should have some snacks, cool bar food ideas, and perhaps even a charcuterie board to pair with your wine tasting flight.
- Water: water is always a good idea when alcohol is involved, so have it on hand, and leave a pitcher on the table beside the wine tasting flight.
Those are some of the basics. Everything else outlined in this blog post will help you prepare to host a wine tasting flight.
What are the Five S’s of Wine Tasting?
The five S’s of wine tasting are:
- See
- Swirl
- Sniff
- Sip
- Savor
In some wine tasting events, there is a sixth S: spit. This is primarily if you’re tasting a lot of wine. You sip the wine, then spit it out into a dedicated bucket to avoid drinking an exorbitant amount. A wine tasting shouldn’t leave you in need of a hangover cure.
What Do Legs Mean On a Wine Glass?
The legs on a wine glass are the lines of wine dripping down towards the wine in the glass when you swirl your glass. When a wine has a higher ABV or sugar content, the legs are more pronounced. It’s a fun way to test a wine and see what you’re dealing with.
Wine Tasting Flights: Let Taste Buds Soar with Wine Tasting Flight Options
A wine tasting flight is a top tier way to showcase the wines you have to offer and draw in new customers. They can promote your wine in a way that leaves you with great profits. They're even helpful for the top 25 Michelin Star restaurants.
When you’re ready to host wine tasting flight events, reach out to BinWise and BlueCart. Between the BinWise Pro and BinScan inventory program and the BlueCart order management system, we’ve got your inventory needs covered.