Ran my first wine party

[TheEngineer]

We had an extended wine party at my house yesterday. It was the first one like this that I had put together. I put a list of varietals/types that I wanted for the evening and the guest were asked select one of those and go out and buy one that they liked. They were also to introduce the wine to everyone at the party so this was an all inclusive affair. The only thing that was interesting was that I had expected only 8-10 wines....The final list stood at a list of 16 wines that were going to be sampled by 12 people over the course of 7 hours.

Here is the final list.

2002 Thierry et Pascale Matrot Volnay-Santennots, 1er Cru Controllee

NV Delamotte Champagne Brut, Champagne, Le Mesnil Grand Cru, France

2002 Landmark Chardonnay Outlook, Napa Valley, California, USA

2000 Mission Hill Estate Bottle Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada

2003 Von Buhl Pfalz, Riesling Medium Dry, Pflaz, Germany

2002 Blackstone Winery Merlot, California, USA

1994 Faustino I Tinto Gran Reserva, Spain

2000 Erik Banti Caibatta, Morellino De Scansano, Tuscany, Italy

2003 Cousiño-Macul Cabernet Sauvignon, Maipo Valley, Santiago, Chili

2003 Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon, Robertson, South Africa

2000 La Fleur de Chateau Bouqueyran Moulis Grand Cru, Moulis, Bordeaux, France

2000 Chateau du Bedat Gironde, Bordeaux, France

NV Alasia Brachetto D'acqui, Piedmont, Italy

2004 Selaks Marlborough Ice Wine Premium Selection, New Zealand

1982 (?) Trevor Jones AA160 Shiraz Tawney, Australia

2000 Silval Vintage Porto, Portugal

NV Cockburn's 10 year old Tawny Porto, Portugal

2001 Chateau de Myrat Sauternes, France.

Some very interesting wines no? We finally cut down on two of them (The Cousino-Macul and the Chateau Myrat) to arrive at the final list of 14.

Concensus winner of the evening was totally unexpected, given our tastes and personal favourites. 2000 Mission Hill Estate Bottle Chardonnay, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Great time had by all, menu matches to follow with the wine in the respective areas.