Thursday, Jun. 15, 2006

How to form a wine tasting group

By Ken Robertson, Wine Press Northwest

Q. Some friends and I are interested in starting a wine tasting group as a way to learn more about wine. Can you give us some suggestions about how to proceed?

A. First of all, I'd suggest you try to assemble a group of like-minded people for an organizational meeting planned by a few of your potential members who already have been discussing the idea.

Before the invites go out, however, I'd consider a few things - wine interests, the group's potential size, finances and resources. Let me explain a bit, starting with size.

During the past 30 years, I've been a member of or attended several groups. The two most successful each lasted more than 20 years and had several things in common. They started with and maintained 12 active members. Every member had at least one close friend in the group. Most of the members were couples. All had an interest in wine and food.

The groups survived children and grandchildren, separations and divorces, retirements, career moves and almost every other event a lifetime can bring. Events like these are one reason to have about 12 members. Some will come and go, and when they do, 10 is a large enough number to sustain while you recruit replacements.

The number 12 makes sense for a couple more reasons. Most homes will handle that many people without your gatherings feeling like they're being held in a phone booth. And 12 is small enough that a single bottle of wine will provide a one-ounce pour for each member, which is plenty for sampling - even with a guest or two - and leave sufficient leftovers for a taste afterward with hors d'oeuvres or a meal.

Form a bigger group and you'll need a meeting place and have to spend at least twice as much money for wine. And a much larger group also will tend to be less companionable.

It's also important that your individual members have similar interests and goals for the group. It's fine - and maybe for the best - if the members include a mix of folks who are more interested in the social aspect and folks who are intent about learning more about wine, but that ought to be discussed when you meet that first time.

And be sure to talk about the role that matching food and wine will play in your meetings. One of the most enjoyable aspects of the two highly successful groups was that the members delighted in bringing mouth-watering hors d'oeuvres and other treats to match each evening's wines. The food was served at the conclusion of the more formal part of the tastings.

One of the best aspects of both the long-lasting groups I belonged to was that they always included a lot of talk about food matches. And a couple of times each year, we replaced the tasting with a dinner party.

If I had to drink a single variety at every meeting and listen to endless discussion of its every nuance, I'd be bored stiff after a while. And I love wine more than most. Make sure the group members have a taste spectrum with room enough for everything from dry whites to fat reds to ice wines.

The more serious folks need to be able to relax and remember there's more than a little of the winemaker's art in an easy-sipping rosé intended for a summer afternoon on the deck. A high-quality wine, regardless of variety, requires good grapes and at least a little skill from the winemaker.

Try not to get hung up on how you'll rate the wines. There is no perfect system. I've used the old U.C. Davis 20-point scale, a simplified 10-point hedonic scale, a 100-point scale and several variations. At Wine Press Northwest's weekly double-blind tastings - at which the judges don't know the variety or the producer - wines get ranked outstanding or recommended or they're booted from our listing of Recent Releases.

What's important is to create a way to rate the wines the members will be comfortable with. One of my favorite rating systems awards points for color and clarity, aroma ("nose"), flavor and overall quality. Set your own parameters.

Finances can be a delicate subject. In the groups that I've belonged to, everyone has paid an equal share for the cost of the wine. Some wine buffs think nothing of spending several hundred dollars on the wines for a tasting. For others, that's out of the question. So try to find members who have similar resources and opinions about what's appropriate. Then have a frank discussion about the ground rules for spending on the wines. Set a maximum if necessary. Members don't want to embarrass one another by overspending someone's budget. That's a quick way to break up the group.

That doesn't mean the group can't have a pricey tasting on occasion. A little extra set aside from each month's dues by a thrifty group treasurer can build up a reserve. Or members can agree on occasional special events and set aside money themselves. But don't surprise one another.

A dependable treasurer is invaluable. One of the groups I was a member of had only two during its 20-year life span. They provided regular financial updates and a spreadsheet once we entered the personal computer age. They also tracked the wine varieties we tasted and could easily provide a list of when each was tasted and the favorites.

Good luck with your group. Many of my best and longest-lasting friendships have developed over wine. Two of Wine Press Northwest's principals - Coke Roth, an international wine judge, and Bob Woehler, the dean of Northwest wine writers - recruited me when we launched a group called "Cork Poppers" back in 1977.

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