| Best tasting of 2002
The evolution of wine tasting in the past decade has been startling. It has emerged from the basements of Old-Boys' clubs and into the dining rooms of people from every walk of life.
Wine tastings are a great way to spend an evening with friends, learn something about wine and have fun. In my line of work, I go to a lot of them – some good, some not so good. But each spring there is one in particular that I look forward to. It’s not fancy or expensive, there aren't any famous guest speakers or world-class chefs and it doesn’t involve travelling to some stuffy European hotel. In fact, it takes place right here in Calgary.
Every year a political science professor at the University of Calgary invites eight people to his home for a small tasting representing the various wine shops he frequents (eight is the limit as that’s the number of dinner plates in his cupboard). The food is simple but good, usually a formidable steak from MacEwans Meats on 17th Avenue S.W., cooked by you to your liking and served with various nibbles from the Italian market.
The selection of wines consists of unusual bottles the professor has picked up over the years, which are poured one at a time around a table of friends, some seated on pillows and all eating off plates set on their laps. The evening doesn’t involve complex pouring rituals or white glove service, just a few good friends catching up on laughs while enjoying two of life’s great pleasures: wine and food.
At the end of the day, the best tastings aren’t the ones where you drank the most rare and expensive wines, but the ones where you shared time with good friends. |
