There are so many social networking sites now that it is amazing how people are changing something so basic and putting it on a networking site. For example, I have found sites where you are on a website attending a cooking class while in your own kitchen. Or another site where quilters are getting together using their webcams to talk, knit and never leave their house. But favorite now is how it is becoming acceptable for wine tastings to take place online.
Whether it’s through LinkedIn.com, Facebook.com or in some cases now Twitter.com people are “gathering” to have their own wine tasting party across the world. I was intrigued so I joined my first online wine party a couple of weeks ago through a group on Facebook. A week before the tasting 2 “hosts” selected a couple of wines that everyone had to purchase for the tasting. The day before, the hosts reminded us on how long to chill the wines for and to make sure we had the right foods on hand to pair the wines with.
The night of the tasting 8 of us logged onto Facebook. I had the chance to meet a couple from Temecula, California, a gentleman from Japan, a college student in Maine and a group of friends that had three computers set up in someone’s kitchen just outside of Atlanta Georgia. Our hosts walked us through each wine and while we sampled the wines we had the chance to comment on the bouquet, the color and the taste of each wine. It was amazing to see how many comments were similar and how many comments were complete opposites from the wines we were trying.
Overall it was a great experience. I had the chance to meet and drink with people that I would otherwise have never met. I did learn a lot about each wine and how different people perceive different flavors and smells. And I had the chance to try some wines that I might not have bought myself. The only downside I found to the online tasting is it can be quite expensive. Instead of each guest bringing a bottle of wine to the wine tasting, I had to supply my own wine and own food. The group in Atlanta had the right idea of still having a face to face wine tasting so the costs were down but it was still an amazing experience.
I’m thinking that maybe we should host an online wine tasting with local Ohio wines. If you are interested friend us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CandlelightWinery) and let us know!
Amanda is the Co-Owner of Candlelight Winery located at 11325 Center Road, Garrettsville. For more information on other winery topics, please visit www.candlelightwinery.com
