I not only have settled on a new-and-improved wine tasting format, but I have also got it fully booked already – even before really inviting people. The new format is a 6 person, 4 bottle evening, seated blind tasting, accompanied by a paired dinner. The average bottle price will be $33 for this one, which will feature red wine. I’m not divulging more unless my guests want to know prior to the reveal. I’m really hoping this concept works. It accomplishes the following for me:
- the reduced wine list reduces palate fatigue, increases average bottle price point, and reduces time spent portioning. It also increases the amount of time spent with each wine.
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the reduced guest list reduces the need to portion carefully [as the danger of running out of a bottle by the end of the pour is essentially eliminated] and will generally allow me to spend more time with the wine.
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the reduced guest list also allows me to seat the tasters and provide a plated dinner, allowing us to explore that aspect of the wine as well.
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it’ll allow the possibility of a high-end buy-in off and on that wouldn’t appeal to a large audience
It feels a bit selfish of me to be more exclusive [ie. shorter guest list], but I think it’s a necessary evil for the wine tastings to be more about spending time with the wine than entertaining guests. Sounds REALLY assholish, and I think confirms my geek-ness. Antisocialism becoming an element of my ‘hobby’. Yup, that’s geek-ness for sure.