Wine Club - format, organization, etc.

[Huruta]

Hi. I'm interested in starting a wine tasting club with a few friends. I am wondering whether anyone else participates in a small wine tasting club and how you've chosen to format it, particularly as it related to learning about the wine you are drinking.

Here are some ideas: taste, write notes and discuss the wines individually without food first; make sure wines are served at the right temperature; taste 4-5 wines each month; chose a grape/style/region and price range each month; and blind the wines during the initial tasting period, rotate person who blinds the wine each month.

I'd be interested to learn from those who are doing something similar or feel they can contribute. Do you have assigned or recommended readings on the wine your going to taste beforehand? Do you have preferred sources? Do you keep all tasting notes together or just allow everyone to track their own tastings as they see fit? Anything else you do that helps the learning process? Thanks!

Christy

[Gumbeaux]

I was involved in a wine tasting group many years ago and the leader of the group ( a wine expert) had a slide show that was pertinent to the wine we were tasting. The slides showed a map of the region where the grapes were grown, a picture of the vineyard, a picture of the grapes, etc. This added a visual element and was very entertaining.

[armel]

I was in a wine club several years ago. The way we did it is:

the host chose the theme
the theme could be a type of wine (e.g cabernet sauvignon)
or it could be wines from a region (Australian wines)
or a combination
each person brought a bottle matching the theme
the host took the wine, put them in paper bags with a number on them
you would pour from the bottles of wine into your own glass -- from whichever one (in no particular order)
then you would vote for your favorite

we even planned on taking a weekend trip to wine country once . . . but didn't quite make it.