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Twelve wines to enjoy:

• Chateau Brown Pessac-Leognan 2003–a very nice white Bordeaux
• Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet 2002–a smooth white Burgundy
• Claiborne & Churchill Dry Gewürtztraminer Central Coast 2005–from California in an Alsatian style
• Dr. Loosen Riesling Spätlese Erdener Treppchen 2002–delicious
• Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2004–this was my favorite of the evening
• Steele “Stymie” Merlot Founders Reserve Lake County 2002–honors the race horse that gave us the word “stymie”
• Constant Cabernet Sauvignon Diamond Mountain Vineyard Napa Valley 1999–a classic example of California Cabernet
• Klinker Brick Old Ghost Zinfandel Old Vine Lodi 2003–alcohol at 16%+, a real monster of a wine, but in the best way possible
• Rockpile Petite Sirah Madione Spring Vineyard 2004–and I thought the Zin was a big wine
• Mumm Joyesse Champagne NV–a nice demi-sec bubbly
• Chateau Nairac Barsac 2001–unlike other Bordeaux dessert wines I’ve had
• Warre’s Porto 1997–almost a bit young, but this wine exploded when enjoyed with something chocolate

The IU South Bend class and guests had a great time. The wines were all delicious, but that’s no surprise at all.

Selecting the wines is fun, but challenging as well. The way the “final exam” works is I get a head-count of the people who will attend, and each person pays $25. So, we had about $575 to play with. The great part is that I can select bottles I might not ordinarily buy since they’re expensive. The challenge is that I have to select from so many good choices.

The real point of this post is not to brag about the expensive wines we had but to recommend that you consider doing something similar with your wine drinking friends. Get a bunch of people involved, have them pay $25 per person, everyone brings some food, and you buy 12 bottles of wine with the collected funds. The more people, the more options you have available to you. This is a great way for people to experience wines they might not get to try otherwise–and without the need to invest in the full price of a bottle. If you use a one-ounce pour, you can serve 25 people with a 750ml standard bottle. We actually used smaller pours so that people could have “seconds” if they wanted.

Definitely worth considering, wouldn’t you agree?

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