When I started hosting wine tastings in Valencia, I worked with different bars, restaurants, rooftops and event spaces. It was a great way to start. I could organise an event without immediately having the costs of my own venue. At the same time, guests experienced different places around the city. However, there was one downside: I was always moving everything around. Glasses, wines, snacks and tasting materials all had to fit into boxes and bags. Therefore, I always had to keep things relatively small and practical.
Having my own tasting room changed that. For me, The Tastingroom is not simply a place where I host events. It is a place I can invest in and make my own. I can think about the small details, from the glassware and spitoons to the decorations and that what makes the guests feel comfortable. Most importantly, everything can be designed around the wine tasting experience in Valencia that I want to create. I can also invest in wines themselves. Instead of keeping a small stock because everything needs to be moved around, I can now buy wines I really like and store them properly. In the future, I would love to have a climate-controlled wine cellar, in The Tastingroom, where I can age bottles for a few years before opening them during a tasting. That is something I could never really do when I was constantly moving from one venue to another.
When I think about the atmosphere, I want The Tastingroom to feel clean, comfortable and welcoming. I am not a decorator, so I have definitely asked people around me for advice. At the same time, I enjoy seeing how the space continues to evolve. I don't want it to feel too busy, but I do want it to breathe wine. The colours, the style and the details should all feel connected to me and to what I do. When people walk in, I want them to think: Tristan, wine and a place where I come to relax and enjoy.
Most importantly, I want guests to remember more than just the wines. Of course, I want them to leave having learned something and remembering the wines they tasted. But I also want them to remember the people they met, the conversations they had and the atmosphere of the evening. My tastings are social events, often with people who i have never met before. That is part of what makes the wine tasting experience in Valencia so special to me.
The tasting itself is also about learning how to understand wine, rather than simply being told what grape or region is in the glass. Why does this wine taste different from another? Is it the climate, the grape variety or the winemaking? Once you understand those connections, you can start tasting wine with more confidence.
Ultimately, that is what I want The Tastingroom to become: a place people remember and return to. Somewhere you can walk past in Valencia and think, “Let's go say hi to Tristan.” Maybe you want to join another tasting, buy a bottle or simply have a chat about wine. For me, that is the wine tasting experience in Valencia I have always wanted to create.
