There’s a new twist on a pot luck, wine-tasting party idea going the rounds and except for the spitting part, it could be a lot of fun. Best of all, the hosts can do little or no work, and their alcohol costs are limited to just two bottles of wine. The wine brought by guests becomes the entertainment as everyone samples the beverages in an attempt to discern the best of the best wines.
Each guest brings two identical bottles of wine wrapped in brown paper bags. The labels and prices are hidden. One bottle is placed on the table and the second bottle is put away. Everyone tastes and votes for their favourite wine and the person whose wine gets the most winning votes, takes home all the bottles that were put away as a prize.
“The fun thing about it is there are no preconceived notions about the wines based on price or brand names. You don’t know whether the wine you like cost $12.95 or $112.95,” said sommelier Rosanne Winter-Repchuk.
Consider how much alcohol your guests might consume, when you plan the party and make it a leisurely affair with the tasting and dining taking place over the course of an evening.
“The host should pour a measured amount into each glass. If you consider one ounce per glass, that could be 10 ounces of alcohol – if you had eight guests and two hosts. I’d suggest four guests and that’s five or six ounces of wine with food over a couple of hours,” said Winter-Repchuk, adding that many restaurant glasses hold five ounces of wine.
And yes! Winter-Repchuk recommends having a spitting bucket close at hand so that guests can sip and spit. Spitting adds to the conversation and merriment, she said, as well as adding some validity to the tasting process.
“I’d set it up so that people tasted the wine first by itself and then tasted it again, with food. Have a piece of paper and a pen so they can mark their reactions down,” she said.
In the less-expensive wine category, Winter-Repchuk said she might bring a red Cabernet-Sauvignon, costing less than $20 to the party. It’s a wine that pairs well with hard cheese and nuts. But Winter-Repchuk said she might also be tempted to bring Muscadet, along with a crockpot of steamed mussels.
“The Muscadet is a lighter-bodied wine that has a taste almost like green apples. Served with mussels, it would knock their socks off,” she promised.
If she chose to bring a wine costing more than $25, the sommelier said, she would likely try to surprise the party with a sherry.
“I’d bring Pedro Ximenez Sherry along with some sweet dessert,” she said, stressing that the food served is key to the taste of the wine.
“In Europe, where many wines were developed, they were made to go with food. Often if you think where the wine comes from, it will give you a hint as to which food should be served with it,” said Winter-Repchuk.
Here are Winter-Repchuk’s food and wine pairings that guests and hosts might consider bringing to the guessing table.
Fino Sherry – almonds and green olives
Muscadet – mussels or oysters
Cabernet Sauvignon – aged hard cheese or braised beef
Pinot Noir – wild-mushroom soup, roasted chicken, lamb or pork loin
Chianti Classico – pizza, pasta with tomato sauce, Italian cheese
Barolo – Parmegiano Reggiano cheese, white truffles, risotto
Pedro Ximenez Sherry – chocolate pecan pie, vanilla ice cream
