It may sound odd, coming from me, but while I love tasting wines, I don't always like wine tastings. One of the problems isn't usually what I'm drinking (or rather tasting), it's the people I'm doing it with. That's because far too often, they take the whole thing much too seriously. It makes me want to say: "Come on, lighten up. You're supposed to be having a good time here, not taking an exam."

The other problem is that wine is actually meant for drinking with food, not sipped in splendid isolation. So here's a step-by-step guide for tasting several different wines, eating, drinking and having a great time with friends, which is, after all, what wine should really be all about.

Pick your host: All you need is someone willing (and able) to cook, lots of wine glasses and a house where you can fit six or eight people around a kitchen or dining room table.

Select your theme: The host then picks an idea and a date for the tasting and asks every guest to bring a bottle which fits the theme. It often works best if you choose something simple like South American reds, New World whites or Chardonnays from around the world. You might want also want to pick a price range of say £7-10, so people know roughly how much to spend. Obviously, if it's a white wine tasting, make sure that your guests remember to bring the wine chilled.

Get tasting: When everyone has arrived on the night, give each guest two glasses. Next you need to number and open all the bottles. Then just pass the first wine round, getting each person to pour themselves a small tasting measure. While this is going on, try to get people to say what they think about the wine - whether they like its smell and what it tastes like. And remember, not too seriously! When they've finished doing that they should discard any wine which was left in their glasses and begin the process again with wine number two and so on. (The second glass means you can keep and compare a wine which you particularly like.) Re-Tasting: When you've finished the tasting, (which might take half an hour, depending on the number of wines) it's always fun and useful to re-taste and discuss which wines people liked (or disliked) the most, as well as which were the best value.

Eat, drink and be merry: Then just tuck into dinner (beautifully prepared by your host, possibly with a little help from one or two others who could also bring a dish). At the same time, you can also enjoy drinking your favourite wines from the tasting, as there should be plenty of wine left over. However, it may be a good idea to have a few extra bottles in reserve, just in case everyone got a bit carried away beforehand.

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