Wine Tasting 101
May 12, 2005

Wine is a hobby at our house, but over the years I think we’ve forgotten way more than we actually know about it. Just when we’ve hit the age when we can afford some of the good stuff, our eroding memory banks fail to keep up with the details and complexities of such a vast subject. Yet we’re always excited about expanding our knowledge and enjoyment of wine, so we teamed up with another couple to create some momentum. We’ve hit upon a fun tasting formula that keeps us focused on the wine and the learning curve high, but without getting too stuffy or serious about it all.

Four times a year each host couple invites one guest couple, for a total of eight tasters per session. At each tasting, serious wines are sampled in three flights poured among 24 identical globe glasses (8 champagne glasses and 8 dessert wine glasses round out our portable “wine kit”.) Discussion floats among wine related topics: region, grape, winemaker, travel experiences, vintage or any other tidbits we can contribute. When I say serious wines, I don’t mean pricey. We do our homework by befriending local wine sellers, and we’ve had consistent winners within the $6-$25 range. We don’t taste the wine blind, but we do keep the price tag quiet until everyone has had a chance to share their impressions. We love it when an inexpensive wine steals the show, like the “little vixen” from Argentina, Vila Tinto Fundacion, that seduced everyone way before we learned of the her $5.99 price tag.

We begin the evening gathered around the kitchen island with a sparkling wine, complemented by an array of nuts, olives, and cheeses. Then we move on to three flights of graduated sophistication: red or white chosen by grape, geography or even a theme (we once did wines with animal labels- a disaster!) A few platters of protein-rich hors d’oeuvres are served tapas style, and we finish strong with a seated dessert, coffee, and a dessert wine.

This is an easy event to execute. One host selects the wine: 1 bottle of sparkling, 2 bottles for each of 3 flights, 1 dessert wine. Guests bring hors d’oeuvres, and a host makes or buys dessert. The host couples split the wine bill- it’s cheaper and a lot more fun than a dinner party! Once a year we have an “alumni bash” for all the tasters to meet each other and compare notes. And each year our reunion party gets bigger and better as we have fun jogging each other’s memories to become better informed about wine.

Kim Dannies is a graduate of La Varenne Cooking School in France. She lives in Williston, VT with her husband, Jeff, and three college–aged daughters who come and go. ©2008