How it works
Pick your evening on the start page. There are three doors, and each asks a few short questions about the evening before it hands you the sheets.
A game with friends. Your guests taste, give each glass its stars, guess what is in it and find tonight's favourite. Say who is coming, how many wines, and whether the bottles are hidden; the wines' names and the occasion are optional. You keep the answers on the host sheet, and a keepsake closes the evening.
A tasting you lead. A known line-up, presented and judged: a club, a team evening, a dinner with six cheeses. Type or paste the wine list once and it appears on every sheet that needs it: the score sheets, the glass mats, the tasting list and the results, with a winner at the end.
On your own. One wine at a time, in the order the schools teach: look, smell, taste, then your guess beside the answer. Set the colour of each glass and the page follows it, with the aromas that belong to that colour.
The sheets come as a set: the sheet the tasters write on, and what goes with it, such as the host sheet, bottle tags, reveal cards and the keepsake. Look at each one before you download it, swap a sheet for another where there is one, and add a certificate or How to taste.
In a hurry? Answer No, keep it blank, or open All sheets from the menu. Every sheet also exists blank, numbered and ready to print, for you to fill in by pen.
Every sheet is a PDF in black and white, on A4, Letter or A3, chosen from your region and changed with one tap. A3 fits six glasses on a sheet; send the file to a print shop for heavier card.
Verdetto, the table's verdict
The idea
Everyone tastes the same wines and gives each glass a verdict: a few stars, one word and, when the bottles are hidden, a guess at what it is. At the end the table compares notes, the host reveals the wines, and you find out whose palate agrees with whose. Nobody needs to know anything about wine.
How it runs
Pour one glass at a time, the same for everyone. Each guest fills in that glass's column: stars, a word, a guess and what they would pay. When every glass is done, go round the table glass by glass and read the scores aloud. The host turns the reveal cards, counts the right guesses and calls “Verdetto!” for tonight's favourite.
You need
Four to eight wines and three to twelve people, the host included. Print one Verdetto sheet per guest, the host sheet, and the bottle tags and reveal cards if the bottles are hidden. Pens, water and something to spit into. Allow about an hour and a half for six wines.
Duetto, the two of us
The idea
A tasting for two, on one sheet laid between you. You score the same wines side by side, each in your own column, and see where your tastes meet and where they part. It suits a date, an anniversary or two friends who like to argue about wine. The sheet is a keepsake afterwards.
How it runs
Pour a glass for each of you, taste in silence, then fill in your own column without peeking. Say “Duetto!” and read your columns to each other, glass by glass. When the last glass is read, write what you agreed on and what you fought over at the foot, then look at the labels together.
You need
Two people and three to six wines; small bottles or half bottles work well. Print one Duetto sheet, the host sheet if one of you hides the bottles, and the tags. Two pens, and two glasses each if you have them. About an hour, longer if the talk wanders.
Quanto, guess the price
The idea
Can anyone at the table tell a cheap bottle from a pricey one? Everyone tastes the same wines, guesses what each costs and calls it cheap or pricey. The prices come out at the end, and the closest guess wins. It is the quickest way to find out whether price and pleasure go together.
How it runs
Hide the bottles and pour one glass at a time. Each guest writes a price guess and circles cheap or pricey before the next pour. When every glass is scored, someone asks “Quanto?” about the first glass and the host reads its price from the host sheet. Go glass by glass; the guess nearest the price wins that glass.
You need
Four to eight wines across a wide price range, with the prices typed in or written on the host sheet. Three to twelve people. Print one Quanto sheet per guest, the host sheet, the tags and the reveal cards. Paper bags or socks for the bottles. About an hour and a half.
Versus, the knockout
The idea
Wines meet in pairs and only the better one goes through, like a cup draw. Four or eight wines become two, then one champion, chosen by the whole table. It is quick, loud and easy to follow, and it settles arguments that stars and scores never do. You only ever compare two glasses at once.
How it runs
Pour two glasses at once and call the pair as you pour: “Three versus four!” Everyone tastes both and circles the winner on their card, and a show of hands decides for the table. Mark the winner on the bracket on the wall and pour the next pair. Winners meet in the semi-finals, then the final crowns tonight's champion.
You need
Four or eight wines, ideally of one kind so the pairs are fair, and three to twelve people. Print one Versus card per guest, the bracket for the wall, the host sheet and, if the bottles are hidden, the tags. Two glasses each helps. About an hour for eight wines.
Vingo, the grape bingo
The idea
Bingo with grapes. Every guest gets a card of nine grapes: the grapes in tonight's bottles mixed with a few decoys of the same colour, shuffled differently for each person. Taste, decide which grape you think is in the glass and mark it. The first person to fill a whole line wins.
How it runs
Hide the bottles and pour one glass at a time. Each guest decides which grape it is and writes the glass number in that square. Whoever fills a line, across, down or corner to corner, shouts “Vingo!” The host checks the marked glasses against the host sheet; if a grape is wrong, play goes on.
You need
Six to nine wines, each mostly one grape, with the grape of every bottle typed in so the cards can be dealt. Three to twelve people. Print one Vingo card per guest, the host sheet, the tags and the reveal cards. Pens, water and a spittoon. About an hour and a half.
Veritas, the blind contest
The idea
A blind contest for teams. For each wine the teams name the grape, the country and the region, and score points for every part they get right. A bold first guess is worth double; a safer second guess earns half. It turns a club tasting into a quiz with a winner.
How it runs
Pour each wine blind, give the teams a few minutes, and have each team write a first guess and, if they like, a second. When every team has written, say “Veritas!” and turn that wine's reveal card. Teams mark their points on their sheet; you keep the tally and announce the winning team.
You need
Four to twelve wines poured blind, with the grape, country and region of each typed in for the key. Teams of two to four tasters. Print one Veritas sheet per team, the key and tally sheet, the bottle tags and the reveal cards. About two hours for eight wines.
Probavin is for adults of legal drinking age. Taste, spit, and enjoy responsibly.