Wine & Friends

One of my favourite quotes involving wine is displayed at one of our usual locations for wine-tasting dinners:

Wine is the pleasantest subject in the world to discuss. All its associations are with occasions when people are at their best; with relaxation, contentment, leisurely meals and the free flow of ideas.
Hugh Johnson

I’ve recently discovered a similar quote which carries much the same message.

Drinking good wine with good food in good company is one of life’s most civilized pleasures.
Michael Broadbent

Both of these sage sayings encompass my experience sharing wine with friends, usually with a dinner of some sort involved. I eagerly await such occasions, whether I am the host or the invited guest. There is no better time to bring out a wonderful bottle than the opportunity to share it and discuss it with friends, in between all that free flow of ideas.

I’ve recently had the pleasure to attend two such events with two completely different sets of friends. The first was a blind tasting where we were treated to some fabulous wines thanks to our generous host (see photo at top for complete list). Most of us hovered around the 50/50 mark in how well we did identifying grapes, countries, producers, and vintages.

While we did enjoy a lovely dinner after our tasting exercise, it’s fair to say the focus of this event was on the wine. Of course the more sips we enjoyed, the more the conversation tended to stray into many other topics – quite Johnson-like! We each usually pick a wine of the night on such occasions, which proved a difficult task this time. For me the Château Haut-Brion 1995 just edged out the Vega Sicilia 1995.

The second event was a pot luck supper. The term “pot luck” does little justice to the fantastic dishes and wines supplied by each couple in attendance. In this case the atmosphere was as per Broadbent – good food, good wine, and good company!

Thinking of planning your own such event?

New Opimian Area Representatives

Jason Whelan and Natasha Hudson have taken over the Newfoundland and Labrador chapter as of January 1st from Courtney and Dave Conway as Dave has joined the board of directors of Opimian. Good luck to them and we look forward to attending events later this year!

NLC Americas Wine Show

The next major NLC show is set for March 30th with wines from North and South America. Tickets go on sale on February 22nd.