A Horizontal Wine Tasting is conducted by tasting wines of a specific type and all of the the same vintage year but which were made by different wineries within a region.  For instance if might host a horizontal wine tasting party to compare the 1997 Pinot Gris from all the different wineries located in the Umpqua Valley of Oregon.

Conducting a horizontal wine tasting from a single grape variety grown within the same region and the same production year can provide you and your guests with unique insight into the different wine producers and their styles.  Which Vintners produce wines with characteristics which are similar or unique from the production of other wineries in the region?  Which wines express a forward bouquet at an early age and which are more likely to age well?  These are questions that can be answered by conducting a horizontal wine tasting.