Brown Bag Wine Night (#bbwn)
Brown Bag Wine Night was designed to be a social, fun, wine tasting evening, in a teaching /learning environment – all done on a level playing field. Unlike a double blind tasting where neither the varietal nor origin is known, we usually pick a red and a white varietal. The white varietal is tasted first, and then discussed, debated, agreed upon, disagreed upon, flaws noted, and favorites picked. And then red wines tasted, where more of same goes on. Invitees to this early evening tasting include an array of educated wine connoisseurs, tasting room staff, wine makers, bloggers, a few young adults eager to learn and the ones you may know- the twitter wine fanatics.
As the last tasters reach the end of the white and red varietal, the unveiling commences… top 2 and least 2 favorites are picked with wines still in the bags. There is a bit of dramatic unveiling as the bags are ripped off to show which wineries match up to the top picks of the evening. There is usually a bit of revisiting of wines that goes on after the bags are off- as the tasters review their notes. It’s a little funny to see the surprised look on the tasters’ faces when they see how what they brought holds up to what others brought, or to see what wines are showing considerably better than others. Then discussions arise to price points for the wines we tasted throughout the evening. Before the night concludes, tasting notes are finalized, pictures are taken and next #bbwn varietals are picked. Please feel free to follow along with us on Twitter #bbwn each and every Monday evening 5:30-7:30pm.
Interested in hosting your own “Brown Bag Wine Night (#bbwn)” here’s what to do…
- The invitee list: a few knowledgeable folks who wouldn’t get lost in the neighborhood wine shop, a few new to the wine world, a few that know their way around a big glass of wine, a few industry folks (servers, distributors, tasting room staff) & if you’re lucky- a winemaker.
- The place & food: Wine centric- somewhere nice to set the mood; wine shop, tasting room, community room, someone’s home or back yard. (You may need to check your local liquor laws about serving in public places.) You’re going to need some good music- have a guest load up their iPod. For the food, I believe that it is not necessary. I do have crackers to help cleanse the palate and sometimes someone brings a wedge of cheese. These tastings are supposed to be casual social wine events- if you’re late or have to leave early, it’s ok.
- The Wine: Start off easy with common varietals like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc. Then choose special regional varietals- like we did last week- “Rhone Night” with Rousanne & Grenache. These did prove more difficult to find- but the reward of finding a reasonably priced, good-showing bottle of Grenache from Washington is worth the hunt. You can set a budget or price range, we don’t. It’s kind of intriguing to see a $9 bottle of Syrah show as well as a $34 bottle or a warehouse superstore champagne take the night against sparkling wine, cava, prosecco and other fine champagnes.
- Items needed: spittoons (paper cups will do), water, stemware, corkscrews, brown bags, masking tape, crackers, paper & pens for note taking, cutting board & cheese knife.
Have fun on you’re very own Brown Bag Wine Night.
Want to see results of our Brown Bag Wine Night tastings? Check them out on twitter #bbwn.
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