Going to wine tastings has long been popular, and we Swedes are increasingly eager to learn more about wine, where the interest remains. But if you are going to hold a wine tasting at home yourself, what should you consider?

Many people have probably been to a wine tasting and wanted to learn more about the wonderful world of wine. But if you want to have a wine tasting at home for your friends, what should you think about? The glasses are everything. That everyone should have the same glasses to get the same starting position when they taste the wine, preferably a wine tasting glass or a regular wine glass. You usually taste from left to right. With a water glass on the far right.

If you are bringing sparkling, white or rosé wines, they should be refrigerator-cold. Pour the wines 10-20 minutes before your guests arrive so that they have time to warm up a bit. If you have both white and red wines, pour the red wines into the glasses first. And if you are going to try different vintages, take the youngest wine first and the oldest last. How much should you pour into each glass? Count on 10-12 people for a bottle, 750 ml, or about 5-8 cl per person.

What you should look for during the tasting is color, aroma and taste. It is advisable to have a light surface, preferably white paper under the glasses so that you can see the color of the wine. Often, aroma preferences also affect the taste. Do not wear anything that interferes with the aroma during the tasting, such as flowers or cooking odors. Wearing perfume during a wine tasting is a no, no.

Then there is the theme of the tasting. Country, region, grape, color, organic, natural wine, sparkling or price level. For example, you can have a grape from different countries, such as chardonnay, pinot noir or sauvignon blanc. Or you can have different grapes from the same country or region. I usually hold tastings with a theme based on a country, for example Italy, France, South Africa, Spain, Germany or the USA.

The best way is to spread the wines from different parts of the country. From north to south. Then you have to decide how many wines you want to include. A good number is four to six wines. I usually choose five wines, which I think works well. If I hold an Italian tasting, I usually have different grapes from different parts of the country. For example, a bubble, either a prosecco or a sparkling according to the champagne method. Among the still wines, I can choose a pinot grigio, preferably from Friuli, a ripasso from Veneto, a classic Chianti from Tuscany, a primitivo from Puglia, a Barolo from Piedmont and perhaps a wine from exciting Sicily.

Should you have any snacks with the wines? During the tasting, only white bread. Then after the tasting is over, you can set out a few different snacks such as charcuterie and cheese to see what goes best with the wines, if you want. And hopefully the guests will have wine left in their glasses, or you can top up with extra wine if you have it. Always buy an extra bottle, in case one of the wines has a damaged cork. Then you can just get started. Good luck!

Here I have selected four wines that you can take to an Italian wine tasting in varied price ranges.