A fine dining experience can become extraordinary with the presence of a sommelier. Their years of palette training have prepared them for selecting wine that pairs perfectly with your meal. However, these professional wine stewards provide more than intriguing combinations of food and drink; they also provide a story. A true sommelier is a student of history and has a deep knowledge of each wine’s unique backstory as well as its flavor profile. Today, you don’t have to leave home to receive this special service. For your next party or event, you can curate a personalized wine tasting with a professional sommelier for your friends and family. To learn more about this latest trend in entertaining, continue reading. 

Selecting Your Sommelier

Lately, there has been a push among top sommeliers to leave the restaurant behind to work as traveling wine educators. This exodus creates the opportunity for a master-level wine expert to personalize a wine list for a party in your home. Services like The Sommelier Company make finding the ideal candidate simple. They will be able to connect you to premiere wine experts in your area that match your party’s particular needs.

 As you’re looking through candidates, keep in mind the style and the theme of the event you would like to host. For instance, you can curate your evening’s wine menu by focusing on specific regions.  If you’re serving Italian food, you probably want to find a sommelier who specializes in Chianti and can take you on a tour of Tuscan wines and vineyards.

After selecting your sommelier, there will be a consultation process. You will sit and discuss your menu, whether you want to use a personal wine collection or buy new, and the plan for the evening. You can decide, for example, whether you would like a paired sit-down dinner or a tasting focused on education with hor d'oeuvres. If you don’t have a menu planned, there’s nothing wrong with starting with the wine. Many master sommeliers have connections to chefs with whom they work well, and you can all devise a plan together.

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Design Your Evening

As you are planning your night, there are several ways to utilize your sommelier. This will depend on the type of event, the guest list, and finally your relationship to wine. To help you navigate these decisions, here are a few of the most common uses of a personal wine steward:

A Tour of Your Cellar

Perhaps you’re a wine collector. You’ve traveled and found rare bottles from all over the world. You know that you need to enjoy these libations at some point since that’s why you’ve taken the time to find them. If you’re waiting for the perfect occasion, just make it happen. Spend some time with your sommelier before the event, so he or she can go through your wine cellar together. With the eye of an expert, you can together create the evening’s tasting menu.

With the assistance of an experienced palate and mind, you’ll learn the history behind the flavor and discover connections between the members of your collection that you would never have realized by yourself. Additionally, you’ll be able to share the experience with close friends and family. Inviting a sommelier into your wine cellar is the best way to truly experience your treasures.

A Lesson in Wine

If you haven’t built out your collection just yet, use your private wine expert to help expand your vinous horizons. He or she can select the wine for you. At your meeting, you’ll discuss the focus of the evening; it could be on grape varieties, region or another facet of wine. The sommelier will make their selections and curate an evening of entertainment and education. That evening, expect you and your friends to develop a deeper understanding of the focus while spending quality time in a comfortable setting.

Dine In

Planning a dinner party? A sommelier is the best addition to any guest list. While the wine may play a smaller role in the evening than it would at a tasting, nothing improves a meal more than the right wine. The expert will work with you and your menu to create exquisite and unique pairings for each course. Also, with a sommelier available, each guest can feel free to ask questions and learn more about the vintage.

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