Design an Introductory Red Tasting!

[Auburnwine]

All right, ladies and gents, here's a pleasant intellectual challenge for you.

At our church auction, we sold a red wine tasting for eight. The participants will be novices, so muuch of what I present to them will be new information. I want to provide reasonably good wines, but obviously won't be stocking up on Grange. And I will probably offer them six wines and a glass of port or muscat.

What do I want to accomplish? I guess that I want them to learn something about wine and how to evaluate wine -- and, most of all, to have a good time.

There are a couple of approaches to take: geographic, varietal, blends, etc.

What types of wines would YOU select and how would YOU structure the tasting?

[Innkeeper]

Many directions to go. I would have a flight of three approachable cabs from three different nations e.g. U.S., Oz, and Chile. Then I would have three different Italians with differnt levels of acid e.g a Chianti or Barbera, a Montepulciano D'Abruzzo Rosso, and a Salice Salentino.

This would a. show them different styles of the same wine, and b. show different wines from the same country. Finishing with a Port would be fine too.

[Thomas]

I would take them through a series of wines from, well, introductory to advanced. Dry pink wine, Beaujolais/Gamay, Cotes Du Rhone, Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Amarone--and then Port.

[Drew]

With "green" novices I like the idea of picking just 2 variatels, eg. Cab Sauv. and Sauvignon blanc and sample three or so of each either from different countries, to show the difference in style, or same country but different quality, to show the diversity of good fruit and winemaking skills.

Drew

[Thomas]

Having been teaching classes about wine for years, I learned that novices are open to more than you might expect, and if you focus too narrowly, they walk away with narrow ideas.

The subtle learning inherent in using a variety of examples is that the novices learn there is more to wine than just those well-known names, and they learn it without having to be told.

I begin my classes to novices with a tasting of components: tartaric and malic acid, tannin, oak, sugar, butter, alcohol, SO2, et al., and then we move to real wine of all kinds.

[This message has been edited by foodie (edited 10-07-2003).]

[Auburnwine]

Ah, thank you all for your insights. I will take them to heart, for you have presented some excellent ideas.

A nice touch at a previous tasting was to begin with a jug Cab and a modestly decent Cab -- and have them compare and contrast. They were pleased at how astute they already were.

I may even develop some little scent samples: bell pepper water, vanilla, plums, etc. This will be fun.

Now to see what wines are available!

[This message has been edited by Auburnwine (edited 10-07-2003).]

[wondersofwine]

I would include a fruity Pinot Noir (perhaps the basic Argyle) and/or a Beaujolais Cru (maybe Fleurie) for those who don't react well to tannic wines. I would also be tempted to include an old vines zinfandel because it stands out as a uniquely American wine but maybe that should be saved for a tasting of the varietal.

[Auburnwine]

Looking at the poverty of my cellar (and my personal poverty), here's the plan: three Spanish reds, three Shiraz, and a port and muscat. WS or WA or WE rate all the wines (except the Borsao) 88 or higher.

Do you see any major errors here? Spanish or Shiraz first?

2001 McGuigan Shiraz Murray Valley Bin 2000
2000 Jacob's Creek Shiraz South Australia Reserve
2001 Annie's Lane Shiraz Clare Valley

2001 Dominico Eguren Codice Tinto
2001 Abadia Retuerta Rivola
2002 Borsao Red, Borja

Benjamin LBV Port
R.L. Buller & Son Muscat