Spittoons & Tasting Accessories

Work out in advance how much has to go in. A session with ten participants and eight wines soon produces a couple of litres, so for a group take the 3.7 litre and for a table of four the 1.2 litre is enough. The aluminium spittoon is heavier and stays put if someone knocks into it, so that one goes in the middle of the table where most of the movement is. The plastic versions are light and stackable, which counts when you are driving to a venue with five of them. The funnel shape at the top is not decoration, because it also catches what was not aimed precisely. The 34 centimetre tasting board and the tasting caddy keep bottles and glasses in the order you pour them, so nobody loses track halfway of which wine is in front of them.

At a tasting, pour about five centilitres per glass and no more, because the rest ends up in the spittoon anyway. Put the spittoon on a corner everyone can reach and lay a cloth beside it. Between two wines, rinse not with water but with a small amount of the next wine, which is called seasoning the glass and stops you diluting the next wine. Work from light to heavy and from dry to sweet, so white before red and a dessert wine last. If you want to round the evening off with something mixed, a Kir Royal is a classic choice built on white wine.

Empty a spittoon straight after the session and do not leave it standing overnight, because wine residue clings to the wall and starts to smell sour. Rinse aluminium with lukewarm water and a mild cleaner, since strongly alkaline cleaners attack the layer and dull the metal. The plastic bowls can take a good soapy wash. The wood of the tasting board and the caddy you only wipe with a damp cloth, never in the dishwasher, because it swells and then splits along the grain.

The glassware that belongs with tasting is with the tasting glasses and the wider range with the wine glasses. For opening bottles and holding temperature there are wine accessories and wine coolers. To let a young wine open up faster, use a wine aerator or a decanter. The tools for behind the bar are on the page about bar tools.