First time? In a winery, I mean

If you've never been to a winery for tasting, it might seem a little scary or intimidating, especially if you don't know much about wine. Relax. The winery's staff is used to seeing people with varying degrees of knowledge and experience.

Here are some helpful tips to make it go well, for your enjoyment and the enjoyment of others in the tasting room.

Before you go

Reservations
See if you need a reservation. Many places post-pandemic require or recommend reservations. What if they only recommend one? It's just like a restaurant where you can likely get in on a Tuesday in January, but on a holiday weekend you'd better reserve a spot.

Allow enough time
Two or maybe three tastings a day is plenty. Be sure to schedule enough time between appointments, so you can have a relaxing time, maybe make some purchases, and then get to the next place without being surprised by traffic making you late. Will the winery hold your reservation if you are late? Will a restaurant, and for how long before they give it to the next person?

Driver
With alcohol consumption, you have to be careful, of course. Some have a designated driver or even hire a driver for the day. Another option is if there are four people going, for instance, two share a tasting with the driver just having a sip of each. This brings up the question of, what if there's four of us and three drinking? You should let the winery know ahead of time, so they have seating for everyone in your party.
Uber/Lyft can be spotty as most wineries are in rural areas. You may find one to get you from where you are staying, assuming you're in a town, to the first winery, but getting from winery A to winery B might be dicey if either is a bit remote.

Costs
Realize there's probably a charge to taste, a tip, and possible wine purchases. Most waive tasting fees with a certain amount of wine purchased. If this is an issue then ask before going. Tipping is everywhere now, including the tasting room. How much? It depends on the service and length of the tasting, if you're standing at the tasting bar for 20 minutes or are you seated with service of a half dozen wines and told cool stories by your host.

Kids and dogs
Know the winery's policy for your kids and dogs before you go. Some are okay with it, some aren't. 

Food
Wineries don't usually have food, having an actual restaurant is rare. Plan ahead to take a picnic lunch or know where there's a restaurant. Take some water and crackers, at least, for between wineries.

Have a good time!

On the day

Clothing
Dress casual and comfortable; there is no dress code. Don't wear scents. Any sort of perfume, aftershave, scented soaps or lotions will interfere with the enjoyment of the wine. Same with the smell of cigarettes on your clothing, yuck. Tidbit: Most of what you get from wine is through your sense of smell, little is actually via your taste buds.

Tasting
The order of tasting will be set by the winery, and there's a reason it's done in a certain order. Generally, it's lighter wines to heavier. As I said, most of what you get from a wine is via your nose, so you'll want to smell the wine before tasting. Put your nose in and give it a sniff. You are looking for fruits and spices and anything else you can or can't identify. Don't be concerned if you can't put specific names to whatever spiciness you may be picking up. Then swirl the glass, don't spill, and smell again. You've aerated the wine and released a lot more smells. Now you can sip. Things coming from taste might be bitter, sweet, savory, mouth-drying tannins, and alcohol. Some you may find pleasant, others not. You don't have to like everything they pour.

Cleansing your palate
After eating or after some wines, you might want to have water, crackers or cheese to refresh your taste buds. If you chewed gum, you'll want to refresh your taste buds. You just brushed your teeth 20 minutes before the first winery? A plain cracker is what you need.

What wines to taste
So you drink a little wine at home, mostly Riesling or Lambrusco or whatever. Don't be afraid to try something new. That's the best part of going wine tasting.

Conversing with the host
Ask questions, that's why the winery staff is there. Well, to make sales, too. Don't be shy because you think your question might seem too basic. Be respectful, as though you're walking into the winemaker's home because in a way you are.

Purchasing
Buying wine is strictly optional. A good host will ask if you want to take anything with you, but you should never be made to feel like it's a requirement. Most wineries will ship their wine to you, depending on where you live. If they can't ship to you, they might know a private shipper that can. Whatever the case, it's not their fault if the winery can't send wine to your home. That's up to your state's legislature.

You might be tasting somewhere fancy, or somewhere rustic
This has no bearing on the quality of the wine