A real quickie today…
A friend threw a very casual wine tasting at his place on Saturday night. He bought about 12 bottles, I brought over 4 and people brought their own. No theme to the tasting, just grab a glass and pour yourself some stuff.
Stuff I noticed which I found interesting. There was a guy there who liked white but not red and some ladies who had no interest in white and would only drink red. Found that to be a little role reversal. So much for stereotypes.
Everyone was responsible with their drinking. Parties such as these are easy to pull off in Manhattan as there is sufficient public transportation for getting home. One girl acted out a bit – seemingly a reaction to too much wine, but otherwise a fine time was had by all.
I was designated pourer for many people and as such I was privy to people’s reactions to the wine and ONLY the wine (they did not see the bottle, label, price, etc.). Two of the favorites were an Israeli Cab/Merlot blend from the newly imported Ruth Winery. And the other was a Chilean Cab made by Caliterra. Both very fine wines indeed.
Final point I want to make about the evening touches on a point I raised just the other day that was confirmed by a guest. It was a gentleman who indicated that he knows very little about wine. I responded that what is most important is that he recognize what he likes. He proceeded to tell the story of a snobby, pretentious and overall demeaning sommelier who completely turned him off from wine for many years. He apparently is SLOWLY re-opening up his mind to wines, but the incident left him feeling that his wine knowledge was so inadequate that he’d be better off avoiding wine altogether. SAD. I hope I was able to shed a more positive light on industry people to this person.
I will be attending a more formal Rioja wine tasting later this week and look forward to sharing the results and feedback…
Have a wonderful & wine filled week!
WTG
Tags: Caliterra, Ruth winery, wine tasting