In My Glass - Host an in-home wine tasting

Diving into WINE

The world of wine brings satisfaction that is limitless

BY » Trevor Burton

II have two basic premises that drive any wine event I hold. The first is that the more you know about wine, the more you enjoy it. The second is to demystify wine, to make it easier to understand and easier to enjoy. Staying on my second premise, there’s certain aroma of superiority when it comes to wine. Take this description of a wine as an example; “This stunning red opens with classic aromas of red berry, rose, dark spice and crushed herb, while the radiant, elegantly structured palate delivers juicy red cherry, orange zest, licorice and crushed mint before a mineral note graces the long finish. Taut, refined tannins and fresh acidity keep it impeccably balanced.” The hidden message, here, is that if you can’t experience wine in this elegant way, you are surely not as clever and educated as the reviewer. Balderdash! Wine is for enjoyment, not some liquid symphony that you have to have a master’s degree in order to appreciate.

For me, exploring the world of wine is an absolute joy, intellectually stimulating, absolutely rewarding and, in the end, very tasty. Let me give you an example. These past few weeks I’ve been diving into the wines of Austria. Not too difficult to do, there’s a great website with oodles of information. The intellectual challenge is shaping the information into an easily understandable form and presenting it in a way that makes others eager to do their own exploration. Here’s the reward. It turns out that Austrian wines are a little known, great value. For a long time, my wife and I enjoyed wines made from the Grüner Veltliner grape. Now we know where the best ones are from and what to look for on a label. We discovered tasty little value nuggets.

In addition to the sheer joy of sipping and tasting, I like the social aspect of wine. Wine is intrinsically meant to be shared. Whether that’s just having a few neighbors over

for a glass of wine or, a more formal, seminar and wine tasting—sharing the fruit, intellectual and vinous, of recent explorations. Simply put, wine is something that brings groups together.

My wine events are on the larger side, generally a group of 30 or more people interested in wine and wanting to get further into it; remember, the more you know about wine, the more you enjoy it. I always have a theme. It might be a wine region such as Sonoma or California’s Central Coast. It might be a topic like “Under-the-Radar” wines that are great wines and great values. I conduct my events in conjunction with several establishments in our lake area; wine bars or restaurants. However, if you have an interest in themed events of your own, there’s no reason that you couldn’t conduct one with a few friends in your own home.

For food at my events, I cover a whole spectrum. At some, I simply have an array of “heavy hors d’oeuvres”—cheeses, cold cuts, breads and crackers. At others, the food is in line with the theme. I once did a tasting of South American wines along with tapas-sized dishes of South American food. Delicious. Pairing food with wine is a low risk endeavor. All you need do is avoid obvious clashes where the wine would overpower the food or vice-versa—a deep beef dish with a crisp Sauvignon Blanc would not be a good idea.

What I especially enjoy is putting together wine dinners; dishes and wines paired together. The whole experience is great; reviewing the wines for the dinner with a chef, coming up with dishes that seem right for the wines and, finally, the dinner itself. Again, if you want to create your own wine dinner, just pick out a theme, create your own dishes or have them designed and expertly catered by a restaurant chef.

A truism; whatever the question, exploring wine is the answer. Wine is intrinsically social; there’s a great deal of intellectual challenge and you get to taste some great glasses of wine along the way. What could be better than that? Cheers!

Would you be interested in joining me at a tasting event at a local establishment? If we can get a sufficient number together, I’ll set up an event for a nominal fee. Contact me at sstwine2@gmail.com.

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