One of the simplest ways to cultivate a taste for the wine collection at your restaurant is to host a tasting. Hosting a tasting offers an entertaining way to teach your customers the subtleties of your wine selection and with the proper bar supplies it’s easy to impress and educate.

Before you even begin checking into your local liquor laws for specific rules for such events--usually, a regular liquor license should cover you, but some localities have additional regulations—you should consider your bar equipment needs. Don’t embarrass yourself in front of the sommelier by having inadequate storage for your wine. Consider investing in a wine merchandiser. Energy efficient models can be utilized to keep up to 50 bottles in 30 degree temperatures. Though, we don’t encourage serving your guests 50 wines in one tasting, varieties 6 should be adequate!

On the evening of the tasting, when it comes time to create an attractive display your customers' palates, you can utilize an attractive wine rack on your countertop. By incorporating a wine rack into your display, you familiarize your guests with the years and varieties they are sampling so that they are better equipped to order their favorites on future visits. The bottles that will be opened should probably rest in a wine chiller. Serv-U’s bar equipment stock ranges in style from marble to frosted acrylic to slanted chillers.

When the uncorking begins, you may want to branch out from the standard waiter’s corkscrew to a more professional wine opener, saving some muscle. No matter how you are opening your bottles, capping them between pours will be important to preserving the taste. Consider bottle stoppers or a wine saver, which pours wine and preserves it by allowing you to pump out the excess air from the bottle.

Round out your bar supply purchases with a table top wine bucket for spitting. The less your customers swallow, the longer they can maintain acuity and enjoy the spread you have invested so much time in selecting. Spittoons that are larger allow the taster to empty glasses at the end of each flight.

Finally, nothing will ruin your wine tasting faster than lack of wine goblets! Make sure you have enough barware for the event. Each guest will have one wine glass, per wine served. So, if you are serving 50 guests six wines, you will need 300 wine glasses for the evening. You may need to buy an extra case or two of glasses, but they can be utilized during your next restaurant wine tasting.

Once your restaurant bar is properly stocked, you can settle in to watch your guests partake in the 5 S’: see, swirl, sniff, sip and savor!