🍷 Spittoon

A spittoon is a bucket or vessel into which wine is spat during a tasting. Why is this needed? At a professional tasting dozens of wines are tried at once. If each were swallowed, a person would quickly become drunk and stop distinguishing taste. So the wine is tasted, held in the mouth, and then spat out.

This is common practice among winemakers, sommeliers and critics. Drinking the wine is not required: all taste sensations and aroma are felt without swallowing. Spittoons come in different kinds, from simple buckets to small containers on the table. At a tasting they stand by each participant or on a shared table.

The spittoon also helps with safety: after a tasting a person still has to work, drive or make decisions. It is part of tasting etiquette, and there is nothing improper in it. Moderation and sobriety are the basis of serious work with wine. If you taste wines at home, remember that swallowing is not required, especially if you drive afterwards.