Tasting Event #1

We are playing with the notion of hosting a monthly tasting event. Having science backgrounds we find ourselves highly entertained by comparison tastings - does a Caipirinha taste better with 51 Cachaça or Pitú Cachaça?  Does a Manhattan taste better with 100% Rye or a blend of Rye and Bourbon? How do single malt Scotch Whiskys taste different by Scottish distillery and region?  Why stop with liquor, how about cheeses or chocolates?  And, better yet, why not share the fun with others? Yes, we have sciency friends, too, although that's not a prerequisite.

The warm weather of summer made us lean toward white wines as a first foray - crisp and cool would be welcome during this brutally hot summer. However, on second thought, we decided on Rosé wines. These delightful wines, best served between 10-12°C, provide an equally refreshing respite from the heat, and at our local wine shop we have noticed a growing selection each time we return. I was delighted to explore something that had been scorned in the US for many years (likely due to its association with White Zin), but now appears to have surged in popularity.

The difficult part in this entire plan was narrowing down which ones to taste. We ended up with nine guests for our first event and, while there is no rule in my book on how many wines one should taste at a tasting, we decided on four wines for this first foray. Once we knew how many we would taste, we then had to decide how to pick. Do we pick across countries (Chile, France, Spain, Italy, etc.) or, perhaps, within a country but across its regional variations? Because many different regions of France were represented among the offerings at our favorite local shop (Midtown Wine & Spirits), we decided to stay within France. We ended up with wines from the Loire Valley, the Rhone Valley, Provence, and the Savoie region (near the Alps). They were all 2011 vintages and cost between $14 and $20.  Here were the wines we served:

1. Rosé Gamay from Les Rocailles (Appellation Vin De Savoie, near the Alps) at $15.99
2. Rosé d'Anjou from Monmaousseau (Appellation Rosé d'Anjou, in the Loire valley) at $13.99
3. Commanderie de la Bargemone (Appellation Coteaux d'Aix en Provence) at $18.99
4. Chateau de Tringuevedel (Appellation Tavel, in the Rhone Valley) at $19.99

Now that wines were picked and guests had rsvp'd, we had to decide on nibbles to serve and the process of the event. We wanted the wines to speak for themselves so my husband opened the wines, removing all the foil, and put them into paper bags. Once he left the room, my job was to come in and number the bags randomly and then place them in order from 1 to 4. This allowed us to also participate in tasting without preconceived notions of what the wine would taste like (the Provence Rosé we served was one we drink often).

Each guest was given four wine glasses (renting glassware is easy and fairly cheap), some 3x5 note cards, oyster crackers and water for palate cleansing. Nosh was self-serve at their leisure. We provided cured meats, pecorino and idiazabal cheeses, olive tapanade, tomato bruschetta topping, and tomato-based spicy curry topping, along with sliced baguette and crackers.

At 4pm we all convened and proceeded to taste, compare and contrast. While I determined that I would drink any of the wines, we all had our favorites. I was alone in casting my vote for favorite to the Tavel, a wine that one guest said wanted to be a red wine. I prefer reds to anything else, so I guess I'm not surprised at my choice. The majority rated the Provence Rosé as the one they'd most likely buy. Provence is known as the Rosé region in France so our friends confirmed its reputation. This wine had the perfect balance of bright fruit flavors with a dry finish. The wine from the Savoie region was a little too understated for most, while the Rosé d'Anjou was on the sweet side for several of us. All except the Savoie received a vote for favorite, so we didn't end up with any skunks thanks to the help from our wine purveyor.

All in all I think we've hit upon a successful idea that we're excited to continue. For the next couple of weeks we get to ponder what will be next month's tasting!  Comment with your ideas and we'll let you know what we decide and how it turns out.