A virtual cider tasting is an easy thing to plan and a fun way to beat the Zoom fatigue while still connecting with friends and family. Not sure how to organize one? Follow these steps below to organize your own virtual cider tasting. We make sure a bushel of fun goes into every can. Share that fun with those who need it this season.

 

1. Make a list of participants, check it twice, choose a time and date

Does a friend having a birthday coming up and you can’t get together? Or maybe you are bummed because you won’t be going home for the holidays? Whatever the reason, note down who you want to participate. The list can be as small as 2 or as big as hundreds! Choose a time and date that will work for everyone across time zones.

 

2. Choose virtual meeting platform and send invitation

There is Zoom or Skype or Teams or Meet or…there is no shortage of choice these days for how to have a virtual get together. Whatever you choose, create a meeting and copy the meeting details to paste in your invitation. You can choose from one of our e-invitations to start and then fill-in the details and add meeting link in an email. Hit send and next.

 

3. Ship Cider (US only)

Go to our online store to ship cider to your invitees (gifts for grandma, sister and parents, DONE!) or link to store in invitation for guests to order it themselves. We ship to most states around the US and we are working for 2021 to add more states. Keep checking in if we don’t send to your state yet. We recommend our Mixed 4-pack for a tasting because it gives you a selection of different ciders to try: Blackberry Botanical, Pink Guava, Dry Ginger and Dry Chokeberry.

 

4. Download free tasting guide

We made an easy-to-follow guide with some tips to get you going and questions to ask when doing a tasting. You can download our free guide, a blank guide to make your own notes, and a choice of a tasting wheel to help identify aromas and flavors. There are even more tasting resources here (lots of good tasting vocabulary) from our friends at Tilted Shed or you can read our previous Cider 101 blogs Part One and Part Two to round off your cider tasting education.

 

5. Watch free guided tasting video

Our Co-Founder and President Dean Landi threw on a mask and his exCIDERed expert T-shirt to explain what you need to know to do a cider tasting. The video is short and sweet to get you started then you can dive into your own process with our free tasting guides above. If you really want to learn more, we partnered with our friends at Stem to host a tasting of 2 of our ciders and 2 of their ciders. If you want to nerd out on cider, we invite you to watch.

One way to watch the video all together is to use a virtual meeting platform with a screen share function. If you are not sure how to do that, go to Google and type in How To Screen Share on [enter platform like Zoom or Teams].

 

We’d love to hear how your tasting goes on our social @stvraincidery. Upload a picture and we’ll send you something special.

Quick Tips for a Tasting

Use Your Senses

Make sure you use all your senses. Most cider judges follows a standard tasting process when evaluating a cider.

Look – How is the color, the clarity and the carbonation?

Smell – Get your nose in the glass to evaluate the aroma

Taste – Roll the cider onto all parts of the tongue

Touch – How does the cider feel in your mouth?

Wait for it – How does it evolve and finish?

Reflect – What is the overall impression?