Wine tasting parties are as varied as hosts throwing them. However, they seem to have some common themes. The first is the most obvious and that is tasting wine. The second which is equally important is enjoying the experience with friends and family. If these two elements exist you are bound to have a great time. Below you will find my latest experience at a wine tasting party. If you have never been make it your mission to be a part of one in the new year as you won’t be disappointed !
This past week I had the pleasure of being a part of a wine tasting party that my good friends threw. The concept was ingenious yet fun for the wine lover to the casual wine drinker. The ultimate goal was to see if we could decipher which wine was more expensive. Every couple that came to the party had to bring two bottles of wine of the same varietal. One of the bottles had to be $10 or below and the other had to be $20 and above. The hosts of the party had brown bags that went over each bottle as the guests brought the wine in, and one of the bottles was labeled with “A” and the other with “B”. When it came time to start the host opened the first pair and every guest had a glass labeled “A” and one labeled “B” . We than proceeded to try the wine and mingle with guests while enjoying tasty appetizers. When we were done tasting we voted by using our glasses. We placed each glass on one of two sides of a table that had been split in half. One half representing the less expensive wine and one representing the more expensive wine. The host did the reveal and each of us got a point if we guessed correctly. The twist was that the people who brought the wine couldn’t vote. However, they could earn a point if more than half the group guessed wrong on the wines they brought. Finally whoever had the most points at the end of the evening won a prize.
Through out the evening we all had our own strategies and some of us changed our strategies through out the evening. However, a few things were clear as the evening came to a close. The experience of wine is to be shared with great family and friends, It is to be enjoyed with great food and It is to be shared with great conversations. One thing was made clear at the end of the event, just because a wine is more or less expensive doesn’t mean it can’t be amazing! Keep tasting you will never know what you stumble upon.
