New wine tasting group. [General]

2007 Sep 4
Looking for people who are passionate about wines that would be interested in meeting once a month to taste wines & chat about them.
Anyone interested feel free to contact me at sjlb68@hotmail.com with any ideas etc.
Hope to hear from you.

2007 Sep 4
Thought I'd post my experience here for everyone, instead of emailing you (hope you don't mind FoodieMom) Some frieds of mine got together for something similar, but it was more propositioned as a 'wine club' or 'wine exchange'. Everyone brings a case, and then the cases get split up and you come home with something from everyone else. Although it was a nice introduction to other people's tastes, it wasn't really my thing. For one, we didn't try the wine that was being traded, but rather had host provided wine. The host provided wine was great.. but did not get me excited about the wine that I traded for. Also, although it was nice everyone told a little story about their choice, by the time I actually got around to drinking the wine the story had been long lost from my memory. So, my advice is... get wine (from guests, or from host) and DRINK IT.. right there. Hear the story, find out why they love it, and DRINK IT! Since pretty much everything here comes from LCBO anyways (nobody had self imported wine in my group), it is easy to go buy it if you like it. I find it also neat to have a themed food pairing... like lamb night, or fruit and bread night, or even an 'everything squash' night. It is amazing how many squash dishes can be amazingly paired with wine! (If my friends are reading this, please don't cross me off the list for the next wine exchange... ;-)) I wonder if it would be interesting to have an event at a nice restaraunt that offers BYOW.. and instead of bringing one bottle.. you bring one bottle per person (or per couple perhaps).

2007 Sep 4
Pete, I agree wholeheartedly that the "each person or couple brings a bottle of their favourite and everyone gets to sample it" approach is way better than divvying up a case would be. To me the whole point of getting together like this should be to discover new wines without the commitment of buying an entire bottle that you aren't sure you'll enjoy. You can do that all by yourself -- who needs friends? ;-)

I'm pretty sure what My Mom's a Foodie is suggesting is a true wine tasting. Where you get to sample new wines and come up with elaborate descriptions of the flavour. "Robust blackberry and oak aromas, balanced tannins with strawberry undertones and a smooth pomegranate finish." or "I don't know... it tastes a lot like wine to me."

Unfortunately, I don't think I count as being passionate enough about wines. I really enjoy a good one once in a while but I like variety in my beverages and have been known to overchill wines and even mix them with sprite. ;-)

2007 Sep 4
Hey FF, Tinto de Verano is very tasty, especially made with Sprite! :p


2007 Sep 4
My idea of the wine tasting evening is for each person to bring a bottle of wine, whatever the theme is that evening & we taste them side by side or in succession.
Or depending on who is interested, a food & wine pairing evening. Each person brings something to compliment their wine choice.
It really is another reason to drink & eat good food with others who appreciate it & meet new people. Also to discover, with out spending a lot of money, some new wines. Nothing too serious or stuffy just fun, food & wine:)
As far as the sprite comment, this summer I experienced all sorts of strange wine & ??? combinations that were called, very loosely, 'spritzers'. Really, were wine destroyers but have to admit very, very tasty. I say drink whatever makes you happy not what others think you should. I'll even admit I have tried some great & horriable 'boxed wines' this year, well tetra packs but the same idea. Name of the good one is 'Three Theives', think it is a pinot gris or pinot blanc can't remember right now. It is a white wine in a green box & surprising good & cheap! Even come in 4 packs that look like drinking boxes. Lots of fun.

2007 Sep 4
That is the format that my instructor suggesed during the wine course I took as well - she often has wine tastings with her friends as well. The classes that I found the most fun and educational, were the ones where we were able to sample several of the same grape variety (such as all chardonnays or all pinot noirs etc.) It was very interesting to see the differences between brands/values/vintages etc. Classes where we did, say, all whites of different varieties were also insteresting so you could really see the difference in what each grape variety tasted like. I would strongly reccomend having a little "cheat sheet" for each grape variety that tells you what type of aromas are common. It's fun to guess what it is that you're tasting, but sometimes you are stumped by it and I found it helpful to be able to look at a sheet that would point me in the right direction as to what I was smelling/tasting. With a better idea of the notes that I would most likely be tasting, it was easier to taste the individual flavours, and not just taste "wine".

2007 Sep 5
And not a single comment about my 'everything squash night' suggestion... sheesh. I thought at least HOT would comment... ;-)

2007 Sep 5
Hi, I'd be interested in participating... in whatever format it takes on, not too picky about that. I'll send you an e-mail as requested.

By the way, for those that don't know, the LCBO on rideau also have tutored tastings almost every Wednesday, it's very popular and they have limited spots, so you're best to book at least a week or two in advance.

www.lcbo.com


2007 Sep 6
Yes a casual wine tasting with food involved sounds like fun! You can count me in. I'll send off an email...

2007 Sep 16
Just wanted to let you all know that I think there is enough interest now to go ahead with a wine tasting evening if anyone is interested.
The layout of the wine group is still very flexible. Was thinking each person could take turns hosting so we could bring our own wines and not have to worry about feeling obligated to order food at a restaurant or how long we stay.

This past weekend I hosted a food & wine pairing evening which was tons of fun. We tried some amazing wines & some great dishes to go with them. Think that maybe for this group though sticking with just the wine & some simple wine friendly munchies (provided by the host)would be the way to go. Turned out to be a lot of cooking etc. and went into the wee hours of the morning before everything was tasted & consumed. Not really contusive to a mid-week evening but was tons of fun.

The format for the wine tasting though was great. Each person brought a bottle and kept the bottle hidden in a bag. We then tasted each wine on their own starting with the whites and tried to decipher the grape varietals, whether it was new or old world, the year, country of origin and price point. We also poured all the whites at once (same for the reds) so when we were done deciphering where we thought it was from etc. we could taste the difference between them which was also interesting.

Anyways just wanted to see if anyone else is up for it.
The first event will be either October 17th or 18th depending on when people are available. Hope to hear from you.

2007 Oct 19
Hello everyone,

We had our first wine tasting last night which was a lot of fun. Smaller turn out than we had thought, a lot of people were sick, etc., but we tried three great wines & had nice conversations non the less.

The first one we tried was a white wine, a 2005 Obsession Symphony from Ironstone Vineyards in California. It is a juicy, sweet, fruity wine made from the Symphony grape developed in California in the 1960's. Would be great as a dessert wine, with spicy foods or to cut the richness of foie gras. Available from the Lifford wine agency. Great wine for a low price point of around $12.00!

The next one we tried was a 2006 Baco Noir from Sandbanks Estate Winery in Prince Edward County, ON. It is a lighter, no wine stained teeth here, than normal Baco Noir but still proved to have 'lively' wild cherry and plum flavours. Can be purchased from Small Wine makers representative Rob Elvy or the winery directly, $14.95/bottle.

The last but definitely not least wine we tasted was a 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon from Robert Mondavi's Private Selection, California. This wine also was lighter but had lovely flavours of blackberry, black pepper & chocolate. In the tasting notes black olive was mentioned and we were not quite tasting it, but later in the evening I opened the bottle and black olive was definitely present on the nose in abundance! (wish you guys would have been able to smell it when it was re-opened, wow!) Available at the LCBO, $20.15/bottle.

The wine evenings will be held the third Thursday of every month. So the next one will be November 15th at 7:00pm at the same location. I will send out a reminder as the date gets closer to re-confirm who will be attending but in the mean time if you know you will be coming let me know. Feel free to ask your friends to join us as well, the more the merrier.

Hope you can join us.
Cheers,
Summer

2007 Oct 19
I'll potentially be able to show up to the next one, big lush that I am. Keep us all posted!

- John.


2007 Nov 17
Here are the wines we tried at the last wine tasting evening.

Peninsula Ridge Estate Winery, 2006, Viognier, Niagara. Delicious wine & only $13.95 at the LCBO. Sweet florals, perfume, peach flavours. Would be great with a spicy meal, eg. Thai.

McLaren Vale, 'The Stump Jump', 2006, Riesling/sauvignon blanc/roussanne/marsanne blend, Australia. A light coloured, crisp white wine with pear, lemon & corn syrup notes. $13.95 at Vintages.

Perez Cruz, 2006, Cabernet Sauvignon reserva, Chile. Huge red, with chocolate, dark cherry, blackberry flavours. Available at vintages for $14.95. The bottle was totally finished, need I say more:)

The next event will be Thursday, January 10th at 7:00pm. From there, every second Thursday of each month.

If you are interested in attending send an email to sjlb68@hotmail.com

2007 Nov 20
Dear, sweet Penny Ridge Viognier. I have two bottles sitting around, waiting. It is really good, I agree.