Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
OH MY GOSH!!! What a wealth of great ideas!! this is fantastic y'all. Thank you so much....
please continue...these are so outside my brain field; I never would have thought to go with books!
How about doing holidays? Like one wine represents Halloween or Thanksgiving (fall wine), one for Valentine's Day (sweet wine, wine that goes with chocolate), 4th of July (chilled wines for hot weather and grilled food/picnic food), a Christmas wine (cold weather, goes with baked ham, can be used in wassail), Cinco De Mayo (good with spicy food), etc.
My sister gave me this suggestion, although it's definitely not for everyone, and caution must be exercised so you don't "break the bank", so to speak. High and low limits should be applied.
A winemaker from another winery had what he called "Rich Man, Poor Man", after the mid-70s miniseries and the Irwin Shaw book. After hours he hosted a party with the theme being blind-tasting a pair of similar varietal or blend wines, one expensive ("Rich Man") and one inexpensive ("Poor Man"). He invited adjacent winery personnel, which included my sister, and blind tasted a number of wines, including Opus One. I don't recommend pairing a $250 Bordeaux blend such as Opus One simply because it is so darned expensive, but that guy did, hence the "break the bank" caution, against a $30 Paso Robles Bordeaux, which 2/3 or more of the tasters really liked better. Proof that it doesn't have to be pricy to be good. However, my sister suggested a $10 against a $40 wine, or similar limits.
You could try changing up any number of themes by making them blind & guessing at wine identities. For example, a Pinots of the World tasting with a California, Burgundy, New Zealand, South Africa, Oregon, and German entry, and whoever gets the most right is the "winner."
You could try a couple kinds of vintage tasting: either 1) selecting only wines that are 5+ years old, or 2) selecting one region (or one wine) and trying different ages (maybe, Alsatian Riesling at 2, 5, 10, and 15 years old).
You could try some discrete geographic themes:
The reds of southern S. America: Chile & Argentina, covering at least a few different subregions
Italy, whites of the North v. the South
Rieslings of Germany & Alsace
All that sparkles is gold, sparkling wines of the world
Climbing the ladder of Burgundy--try one each of a Burgundy label, a particular village, a premier cru, and a grand cru
How do you like your dessert? Sample dessert wines & port
Sweet wines: try a smattering of non-dessert wines that retain some sweetness
Now or later? Pick three wines & have two bottles of each: pour one in a decanter 1-2 hours before the tasting, and open the other bottle at the time of tasting--compare
Hi Jade; I did think of doing a theme based on animal labels, but you're right, that could go a long way....celebrities, boats, and lots of others. Thanks
Hi Jade; I did think of doing a theme based on animal labels, but you're right, that could go a long way....celebrities, boats, and lots of others. Thanks
well did you have the party and how did it turn out? Love the idea of wines around the country, had you thought about wines from around the world? Maybe that would work?
Yes, I did my host turn and it seemed to go well; we did a survey of wines from southwest Australia.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
