How to Travel Alone: 7 wine tasting tips for solo travelers
Tasting wines from all over the world is a one of the great pleasures of travel.
There has been plenty written on wine tasting. You can go to many sources to learn about wine tasting in general including Wikipedia. Here are some wine tasting tips specifically for solo travelers.
Wine tasting tips for solo travelers:
- Before leaving home, practice spitting. Yup, as a solo traveler you don’t want to be get too tipsy on the wine so the spitting part (something I don’t do if I’m not solo) is very important.
- Choose an organized tour so that you don’t have to drive.
- Eat before you go. Wineries are not known for great food with their tastings. In my experience, most have none.
- OR, bring a picnic lunch with you. Many wineries are happy to let you buy a bottle of their wine so that you can dine among the vines.
- Identify someone in the group who appears to have knowledge and hang with them to get more from the tour.
- Buy a bottle of the best wine you taste that day to take home, share with friends and relive the experience.
- Ask if they have special packaging to help get your wine home safely.
Last September I was in Orlando and discovered The Wine Room, a bar that sells wine by the ounce. You simply get a special credit card, load it with however much money you want and then slide it in the slot to purchase your wine from the Enomatic dispensing system.
Imagine there is a fine Italian wine you’ve been wanting to taste but it’s extremely expensive. This is where this system really shines. As the picture above shows, you could taste an ounce of that wine for just a few dollars.
The wine room has 148 different wines available. You can purchase 1, 2.5 or 5 ounce portions of as many wines as you like, find your favorite and then buy a bottle. After returning from my trip and doing a bit of research I was surprised to discover that there are quite a few bars that offer this very social way to discover new wines.
Whether you’re tasting wine at a vineyard or a wine bar, enjoy!
Closson Chase Vineyars, Prince Edward County, Ontario
Joe Will and Jane Langdon of Strewen Winery, Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Inside the tasting room at Closson Chase.
