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How to Host a Blind Wine Tasting Party at Home (Step-by-Step Guide + Printables)

Blind wine tasting parties are one of the most fun and educational ways to explore wine with friends. Whether you’re a total beginner or a seasoned enthusiast, this guide shows you exactly how to host a blind tasting at home—setup, scoring, and easy extras.

Step 1: Set Up Your Blind Wine Tasting

Invite friends & choose the wines

Start by inviting guests and setting a simple theme. Ask each person to bring a bottle of wine as their “ticket.” Add a price FLOOR and a price CAP so no one brings Carlo Rossi and so no one brings Sassicaia (but by all means, tell your friends to err on the high end). Choose a theme if you want to dive into a specific area of the wine world: by country (France, Australia, Germany) or by varietal (Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc) works great. You could also do Old World vs. New World or "Natty or Not".

Gather your essentials

• Enough wine glasses for each guest (stemmed preferred, stemless works too)
• Brown paper bags, tinfoil, or long socks to conceal bottles — or try these numbered blind tasting bags on Amazon.
• Notepads and pens (or the Harvest Wine Shop blind tasting score card and cheat sheet below)
• Scoreboard (whiteboard, spreadsheet, or notebook). In the past, we have used large whiteboards and chalkboards, and have even screen mirrored our iPhones to the TV showing an excel sheet with all of the wines and everyone's guesses. 

Download the Printable Kit (Scorecard + Tasting Sheets, PDF)

Prep the tasting area

1. Bag and number each bottle. Try to just have one person do all of this. Usually the host, or the biggest wine nerd at the party. 
2. Group by style: whites first, then reds; rosé/sparkling as their own flights
3. Set up your scoreboard with guest names and bottle numbers
4. Place a small grape “cheat sheet” at the table so people can make informed guesses (included in download link above).

Step 2: How to Run the Blind Tasting

Service order

1. Start with white wines and sparkling wines
2. Then roses
3. Then red wines
4. Always move from light-bodied to full-bodied

Tasting process

1. Pour small tastes for everyone
2. Give guests a minute to jot notes (sight, smell, taste)
3. Have each person describe the wine and guess the varietal/region
4. Encourage creative descriptors—half the fun is the banter. Let your guard down.

The big reveal

After all bottles in a flight are tasted, reveal them one by one and record the guesses. Expect surprises—budget bottles often beat spendy ones when no one can see the label. You could also taste through EVERYTHING before scoring, too, if you don't have that many wines. Be sure to unanimously agree on the best and worst wine. The person who brought the worst wine has to sit under the table the rest of the night ;)

Step 3: Scoring, Awards & Wrap-Up

Use a simple scorecard: each correct guess earns one point. Tally at the end and crown your champion plus winners for the categories below:

Prize ideas: leftover bottles, corkscrew, or eternal bragging rights. Serious players could even have a buy in and winner takes all.

Extras to Elevate the Blind Tasting Party

• Palate cleansers: water, plain bread/crackers; mild cheese between flights
• Snack pairings: charcuterie, nuts, dark chocolate for bigger reds
• Mini-games after each sip: “Guess the price,” “Name the region,” or “Old World vs. New World”
• Ambiance: We've found the type of music you play really sets the vibe. Choose carefully.

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