Eight Fun Things To Do While You’re Drinking Wine

By K.M Langevin

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For wine lovers, everything about pouring a glass is delightful. From selecting the perfect bottle to taking out the cork, and seeing the wine as it fills your favorite glass. After, they’ll take that wine glass anywhere — from the counter where they poured it to the dining room table, the living room couch, or even the master bathroom.

Sure, drinking wine at a party is fun, and we can mimic that social experience at home with Houseparty, but there are plenty of enjoyable things to do while drinking wine in the privacy of your own home.

So for those beginning to appreciate the delights of a good bottle, you might find this list of fun things to do while drinking wine a starting point for exploring just how you want to enjoy the next glass you pour.

Take an online wine course

Tired of not knowing your red from your rose? You don’t need to have the aspirations of a sommelier to become a student of the wine industry. Learning about what you are drinking will help you become a better shopper and delights your unique set of taste buds.

Choose a MOOC (which stands for Massive Open Online Course), like “World of Wine: From Grapes to Glass” offered by edX or “Crash Course on Wine - Wine 101” offered by Udemy. Or, if a class seems like too much of a commitment, check out this series of 3 Minute Wine School YouTube videos sponsored by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust  — dedicated to high educational standards.

Of course, you can also just search “wine class” or “wine course” on YouTube and curate your own content — there are tons of sommeliers, professors, and vineyard professionals eager to tell you all about what they know and love.

Practice “mindful drinking”

 Drinking wine is a full sensorial experience. The colors alone tell stories of the flavor to come, from deep reds to shimmering whites, each variety expresses to the drinker what they should expect when they take a sip. Factor in the smell and the feel of the wine in your mouth — wine tasting is about so much more than the flavor your tastebuds pick up.

You can make your time with a glass of wine a mindful experience as well, almost a meditation, by beginning with some deep breathing and going step by step through different aspects of your senses, and being intentional with every moment.

The Traveling Somm features a 10-minute guided wine tasting meditation on their site. So pour a glass, find a comfortable seat, and press play.

Create a mandala

 Not into meditating about the wine you are drinking? Well, there are other meditative practices that are super fun to do with a glass of wine within your reach. For one, you can turn on some music, grab your colored pencils, and the adult coloring book you received as a gift — the combination of relieving stress and anxiety with coloring at the same time you relax with wine is pure Zen.

Or, you can grab a blank piece of paper or a sketchbook and create a Mandala, a Sanskrit word meaning, “Circle.” Meditating with Mandalas is all about focusing your attention on yourself and the energy within you — no matter what that energy is. Jung himself considered the Mandala a symbol of the Self. You can watch this great video from Lauren Rudick, Yoga Academy International founder, to learn more and follow her tutorial, which starts about three minutes in.

Listen to an audiobook

 For a fun and relaxing evening, take your wine glass, curl up on the couch with a throw blanket, and put on an audiobook that offers conversation or information — even a trip to a fictional world. Audiobooks.com has lots of options: Our favorite is a riveting memoir by Victoria James, Wine Girl: The Trials and Triumphs of America’s Youngest Sommelier. You can also try a comedic book by Marissa Ross, Wine. All The Time.: The Casual Guide to Confident Drinking. Or, if you are an information seeker, try Jon Bonne’s The New Wine Rules: A Genuinely Helpful Guide to Everything You Need to Know.

Make a meal for yourself or your family

Thanks to Meal Kit Delivery Services, you can cook while enjoying wine like never before. That’s because companies like Sun Basket and Purple Carrot provide you with pre-measured ingredients and step-by-step instructions so that even an amateur can feel like a chef.

A word of caution here? Please don’t start the cooking process if you’ve had a glass already. Cooking can be dangerous, especially if you have a gas stove. We pour ourselves a glass just as we’re about to unpack the meal we selected for the evening. Then, we sip in-between steps until the recipe is over and bring the rest of our glasses (and/or the bottle) to the table to finish during our meal.

Watch Netflix and… chill

I mean, there’s no explanation needed here, right? Just pour yourself a glass of wine, turn on or light that Duraflame log for your fireplace, grab the remote, and relax. We’ll leave the innuendo out of the suggestion to “chill” and encourage you to exhale while you view, put away your phone and unwind in front of the television.

If you haven’t already seen it, check out The Queen’s Gambit as it’s fantastic. (Just please don’t drink and take pills, as Beth, the principal character, does). Somm is an incredible documentary about four sommelier candidates. Sideways is a comedy about two men in their forties on a road-trip to the California Wine Country. And oh, and we can’t forget Wine Country, another comedy about friends on vacation in Napa Valley, but in this one, it’s six women.

Paint a picture

The last decade saw a break out of experiential activities and the exponential growth of the experience economy. People wanted to spend their money on activities more than on materials things. Enter Adventure Parks, Escape Rooms, and CluedUpp games which turn city streets into outdoor gaming experiences.

So where does fun while drinking wine fit into this equation? Enter brick and mortar businesses like Painting with a Twist! Because no art skills are necessary, you connect with your friends over a glass (or bottle) of wine and paint a personal masterpiece by following a skilled leader. And these translated into at-home fun as well — places like paintingparties.com and AR Workshop allow you to host an at-home online paint party for your friends and family members (or yourself). All you have to do is BYOB (bring your own bottle… of vino).

Play games

I mean, there are a gazillion drinking games out there, so I will not get into those. Besides, those are best reserved for faster-drinking beverages like beer or spiked seltzer. But wine? That’s best enjoyed with someone a little more… civilized.

If you have a partner or family you can play with, we like Telestrations, DoodleQuest, and, of course, Pictionary. And of course, there are the classics, like Monopoly, Clue, and Life.

For the less traditional of you, and you know who you are, you can always turn on your (child’s) gaming system and load up the Jackbox Party Pack. Play with your favorite household members or remotely with friends via Zoom — you only need a smartphone or web-enabled device. In this house, we like Quiplash. A lot. Like… a little too much. And we have a little too much wine when we play. But that’s just us.

Caveat:

We mean these ideas to both fun and relaxing. But because drinking — alone or in groups — can lead to alcohol dependency or addiction, this piece might have triggered feelings of uncertainty, insecurity, or even shame. If this speaks to you, please know you are not alone. There are online resources to help you sort out your feelings. For example, the team at Ria Health uses technology, medication for alcoholism, and an online coaching model to help you cut back or quit drinking from home. Where would you start? Perhaps with this quiz.

Drink (wine) safely and drink (wine) responsibly. That’s the Pure Healthy Living way.

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