I didn’t spit when tasting wine until I entered a formal Wine Studies program. Spitting wine just seemed to be the opposite of my goal. The point of wine is to drink it, right?

When I’m drinking wine in general, my intension is to drink it. I may spend the first few moments tasting the wine, dissecting it’s aromas and taste profile, but then I drink. However, if my intension is to taste wine – meaning I will likely be tasting more than one type of wine and learning about the wine as I do so – then drinking sadly gets in the way. I know that I can only truly have one to two glasses before I can no longer taste the nuances in the wine needed to distinguish it from others. So, if my goal is tasting wine, then I’ll spit.

Spitting is gross. While I’ve seen others spit in a way that seems elegant and refined, I cannot seem to master this technique. I need to hide my face in the spit cup and NOT use something clear. A mug works pretty perfectly, though you may need to empty it frequently.

There are times when spitting doesn’t work – for example, when tasting pairings with food. Or perhaps you’re somewhere and can’t find a spit bucket or with someone who would laugh? In these instances, just take a small taste!