Have Mark Phillips lead a wine tasting for you. The four most popular formats are listed below but others can be done like Wine Quiz Show, Wine and Food Matching Class / Dinner, etc.
Option 1: Overview of Wine
Option 1 is for folks who want to gain in their overall knowledge about wine both in discussing and tasting wine. The talk can be any length to fit into your time constraints but it’s typically a 60-90 minute “Overview of Wine” lecture and tasting patterned after Mark’s PBS show. The information is presented in an unintimidating fashion with lots of humor, laying the foundation for enjoying the world of wine. The topics that are included are: Learning how to taste and describe wine; procedures for opening, serving and storing wine; ordering wine at restaurants; how to buy good wine every time, wine & food matching and much more.
Option 2: Blind Tasting Competition
This option is best for groups that want more interaction between the guests. It contains less general wine information. Instead the focus is on tasting wine. This option has a shorter talk, maybe 20 – 30 minutes that people could actually stand through followed by a reception-style blind tasting. Two wines are tasted during the lecture. The blind tasting has 8 wines. The wines are poured into numbered pitchers. The guests get a handout with the names of the wines along with tasting notes to help them guess the wine. The goal is to match the wines in the pitchers to the list on their handout. Guests work in teams and prizes can be awarded. Everyone has a great time mingling and working together to guess the wines. Participants are surprised how well they do and how much they learn just from tasting wine. Following the tasting, the answers will be given and I’ll share a few helpful tips on wine.
Option 3: Tasting Wine Like a Pro
What is more intimidating than describing wine? Are you supposed to use all those crazy adjectives used by wine writers? This presentation will focus on how to taste wine like the pros. The guests will learn the different styles of wine, how to describe it, how to communicate to a wine shop salesperson and much more. Once the guests finish this class, they’ll have the confidence on how to describe wine, how to order wine off of a restaurant wine list and the knowledge to buy wine they like.
Option 4: Informal Wine Tasting
If the wine tasting is not the main reason people are coming to the event, often this works best. Mark stands at a table and pour a selection of wines, six typically. Guests can ask questions about wine if they desire. This way, non-wine folks don’t have to sit through a wine program and can visit with others. The competitive aspect can be incorporated into this option by have the attendees guess the prices of the wines or complete a fun wine quiz that can be provided.
To inquire about having an event, send an email to info at winetasting.org