SWILL wine tasting party blog

Ken from WineExperience.com mails out a great Wine of the Week newsletter. Today’s tip describes what really is meant when one tries to describe fruity wines.

Quick Tip: Fruity

“Now you would think that if wine is fruity it would taste like grape juice, right? Not so. The fruit smells and flavors come from the type of grape, its growing conditions, and the winemaking itself.

So if someone says “fruity” just what do they mean? There are several broad areas of fruitiness to consider - Does the wine have a berry quality like strawberry or blackberry… or is it more like a tree fruit, sort of cherry, peach or apple?

Sometimes the wine is tropical like pineapple or melon or even exotic mango. And other wine may have the aroma and taste of dried fruits such as raisins or prunes or even the cooked density of jams. So “fruity” is really just the start before you hone in on just what kind you’re smelling or tasting in the wine.

Try tasting “fruity” next time you take a sip.”

Help your friends host the hippest wine tasting parties of the year by giving the SWILL® Wine Tasting and Club Starter Kit. SWILL wine tasting parties have a magical way of building fellowship among friends and connecting total strangers by sharing the experience of wine tasting, bringing together novices and experts alike. The SWILL® Wine Tasting and Wine Club Starter Kit is designed to make hosting a wine tasting party or starting your own social wine tasting club easy, affordable and fun. No wine tasting experience required and SWILLparty is offering FREE Priority ground shipping on all orders from November 1 through December 18, 2008.

With lifestyle trends shifting heavily toward gourmet kitchens, custom wine cellars and dual-zone wine coolers as standard fixtures in many homes, this can mean only one thing…we’re staying home to entertain! Jim Donald, president of Tuscan Wine Cellars, says, “It’s becoming more common to have a couple glasses of wine with family or friends…” And that’s exactly what SWILL wine tasting kits encourage…indulging in the good things in life: friendship, family, food, fun, and of course wine! Marthastewart.com declares, “Whether you are a wine novice or aficionado, a wine-tasting party is an elegant, and fun way to entertain and educate.”

Featured on Canada’s www.Wish.ca shopping network, The Wine Buzz and in Baltimore Woman Magazine, and reviewed by Marisa D’Vari as well as many wine blog sites, the SWILL Wine Tasting and Club Starter Kit sells for $24.99. It contains everything needed to host a wine tasting party for eight. The kits feature wine rating cards, stylish invitations, the exclusive SWILL® Hosting 101 Guide, wine glass markers, stamped paper wine bags with elegant ribbons for blind wine tastings, pens, and a corkscrew. These kits can also be expanded to host an unlimited number of tasters by ordering Individual Taster Packets.

SWILL® wine tasting clubs are popping up all over the country in places like Portland, OR; Allegany, NY; and Charlotte, NC. So, host a party or build a larger social network with your free SWILL® wine club. Clubs use the online resources at www.swillparty.com to choose ready-to-use wine lists, gourmet recipes, professional wine reviews, and to order bulk wine tasting club and party supplies.

SWILL®…pairing people with wine!

Company Background:
SWILL® (Several Wine Imbibers Liking Libations) was founded in 2003 on a cold winter night by Anne Conroy-Baiter as a means to make new friends and learn about wine. The first gathering had only 12 tasters, none of whom were serious wine aficionados. With the club’s “invite a friend” policy, the invitation list has since grown from the 12 to 160+. In 2005, Conroy-Baiter and business partner, Eva Potter, founded SWILLparty, LLC. The partners used their many years of event planning and marketing experience to develop the SWILL® Wine Tasting and Club Starter Kit. It’s the only kit on the market you can customize with your business private label for effortless branding (contact us for wholesale pricing).

The nights may be turning chilly, but that’s no reason to hide inside. With the help of the SWILL wine tasting kit, big red Malbecs will chase away the chills and warm up spirits as the cooler temperatures of autumn are welcomed in.

Argentinian Malbecs are renowned as solid-quality big red wines at prices which are well within gas-exhausted, pre-holiday budgets. One knockout at the higher end of the price scale is the 2006 El Falino Malbec, retailing for $17.99. The Wine Advocate wrote that the El Falino is a “full-bodied wine with layers of plum and black raspberry flavor, good structure, and excellent length. It is a sensational value in high quality Malbec.” The 2006 Punto Final Malbec, priced at $9.99, is a knockout value, given that it was chosen as #27 on Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Best Buys of 2007. Be sure to notice berry flavors and a wonderful balance. The 2006 Altos Las Hormigas Malbec, retailing at $9.99, is a top contender for Malbec value. Expect to find balance, a big nose jam packed with berries and fruit, and multiple layers of flavor. One important note about tasting Malbecs—the tannins are tight, so open them an hour or two ahead of time to allow the typically jammy flavors to emerge.

After a summer of grilling, it’s good to know that Malbecs can stand up to Mexican, Cajun, Italian, and even Indian cuisines, so take out may be an easy option for trouble-free entertaining. In fact, everything about your SWILL wine tasting party is designed to be easy, affordable and fun. The kit contains what you’ll need to host a wine tasting party for eight. And here’s more good news…invite as many people as you like using the SWILL Individual Taster Packets and club supplies. For details, visit www.swillparty.com and remember to outsmart high summer gas prices with the essential things in life - friends, food and SWILL® wine fun.

Cheers! Anne and Eva

Finally…a foolproof method of insuring that your wine hasn’t been cooked to death in transit. I’ve often wondered how well shippers take care of the wine I’m buying. This is especially pertinent for your SWILL wine tasting party or wine club gathering.

I know I’ve been guilty of leaving a bottle in my car for a while on a warmish day. Not a good move, but at least I know I’m the one who did it.

Now PakSense has created the PakSense Ultra Label that can monitor temperature throughout the shipping process. It even has a nifty LED that signals green for good, and yellow for temperature compromise. These labels are available in pre-programmed temperature ranges and various lifespans so a shipper can choose the best temperature label for that shipment.

Mind you, I don’t usually buy expensive wines, so I’m hoping that these labels will also show up on mid-priced bottles. I haven’t encountered one yet but am looking forward to seeing that flashing green light!

Close your eyes and picture a blue-sky day, sunshine warming your shoulders, and golden vineyards for miles around. September is the ideal time to hit the road for the wine country nearest you and the SWILL® Wine-To-Go kit is the perfect tool to help you document your journey.

Oh, you don’t live in California? Well you’ll be relieved to know that while California still produces more than 90% of domestic wine, the number of wineries outside California is roughly equal to the number inside it. Over the past ten years wine countries in Oregon, Washington, New York, Virginia, North Carolina, and even Texas and Arkansas have sprung up. With tasting rooms aplenty, visitors are offered a glimpse into the wine making process as well as tastes of the infinite variety of wines created today in the United States.

The SWILL® Wine-To-Go kit is an insulated and padded single-bottle wine carrier containing a pocket-sized SWILL® Wine Reminder Journal, a SWILL® pen to chronicle your wine tasting adventure plus a travel corkscrew. Whether you are just starting your journey into the wine tasting world or you are an experienced wine taster, we all suffer from wine amnesia at some point. When you find that perfect ruby-colored red wine–the one that smells like black cherries and plums with a hint of tobacco–the journal is the perfect place to jot down some notes and buying information. The stylish black carrier is a safe way to get it home, or to the nearest picnic spot. And please, drink responsibly. No winery road trip is complete without a designated driver.

For details on the SWILL Wine-to-Go kit as well as other SWILL wine tasting kits and supplies, visit www.swillparty.com and when you’re hitting the road, remember the essential things in life - friends, wine, food and SWILL® wine fun.

SWILL®…pairing people with wine!

Presenting the August edition of our free, bimonthly, ready-to-use wine lists that have been tasted and reviewed by SWILL wine club members. Keep checking back for more free wine tasting list ratings and reviews that you can immediately use for your next SWILL wine tasting party.

Purchase these wines from online vendors or look for them at your local wine shop. Many will gladly order what you need, especially if you tell them you’re starting a wine tasting club - they’ll love the repeat business. Decipher ratings at How To Rate Wine Page.

Our latest SWILL wine tasting club gathering took place on August 16 and featured Malbecs from Argentina, all of which were inexpensive and delicious.* Our hosts, the Mehtas, treated us to wonderful Indian cuisine and many other delights. While the evening was laced with rain, we managed to thoroughly enjoy their gorgeous backyard patio setting including pool with waterfall. The many flowering plants and trees provided an idyllic setting. We even sat outside to read the reviews warmed by logs burning brightly in their fire pits.

*Note: We opened the Malbecs 2-3 hours before enjoying and this really made a huge difference in flavor and aroma.

Professional Reviews:

STATION #1
2007 Domaine Houchart Côtes de Provence Rosé • $10.99
Bright medium pink. Musky red berries and cherry on the nose, with a light floral quality adding complexity. Spicy red currant and wild strawberry flavors are light in body and gently lifted by subtle minerality. An understated style, and well-suited to aperitif duty. 88 Points, Stephen Tanzer’s International Wine Cellar on 6/1/2008

STATION #2
2007 Crios de Susana Balbo Rosé of Malbec• $14.99
Medium pink with an expressive bouquet of strawberry and cherry. The wine is medium-bodied with lots of glycerin giving the wine a smooth palate feel. Dry in style, the wine has rich flavors, excellent acidity, and a lengthy finish. Drink this remarkably food-friendly wine over the next 1–2 years. 89 Points, The Wine Advocate on 12/1/2007

STATION #3
2006 Punto Final Malbec• $9.99
Color, power, flavor and commendable balance; that’s pretty much the format for Punto Final, one of Argentina’s go-to brands for Malbec. This youngster is ripe and ready, and it holds form onto a long finish. If it seems a little young and clumsy upon pouring, air it out and it’ll improve. 90 Points, Wine Enthusiast, Top 100 Best Buys of 2007 (#27) on 8/1/2007

STATION #4
2006 Altos Las Hormigas Malbec• $9.99
The 2006 Malbec is a prime contender for the top value in Malbec. Purple-colored, it has an excellent nose of violets, spice box, blueberry, and black cherry. Medium to full-bodied, it offers a creamy texture, layers of flavor, excellent balance, and a long, fruit-driven finish. Although this outstanding Malbec may well evolve for 1–2 years, there is no reason to defer gratification. It is a fantastic value. 90 Points, The Wine Advocate

STATION #5
2006 El Falino Malbec• $17.99
The 2006 El Felino Malbec spent 9 months in French and American oak, 21% new. It is opaque purple in color with a complex nose of spice box, mulberry, and black cherry. This leads to a smoothly-textured, full-bodied wine with layers of plum and black raspberry flavor, good structure, and excellent length. It can be enjoyed now and over the next 6 years. It is a sensational value in high quality Malbec. 92 Points, The Wine Advocate on 12/1/2007

Enjoy and, as always, drink responsibly! Eva and Anne

What better way to beat the high price of gas this summer than by inviting over a few friends, pouring tasty down-under reds, and enjoying your backyard summer breezes? With the help of the SWILL wine tasting kit, an under-the-stars SWILL® wine tasting party is a guaranteed summertime hit that will keep the laughs rolling but the mileage low.

Aussie reds, and specifically Aussie Shirazes, are also a great way to keep the budget in check, but the quality of your wines high. One Shiraz we recommend is the 2006 Marquis Philips Shiraz retailing at $15.99. Anything from Marquis Philips is always a good bet, but this one is particularly rich, dominated by blueberry and blackberry notes. Another fun selection would be the 2006 Strong Arm Shiraz selling at $10.99. The Strong Arms winery features cleverly artistic labels and even printed six different label variations for this one bottling of Shiraz. But more importantly, the wine is of excellent quality, rated a 91 by Robert Parker, the Wine Advocate. Since you’re saving so much by entertaining at home, a top-of-the-line choice would be the 2005 Flinders Run Shiraz retailing at $32.99. This is a seriously good wine with deep color, a fragrant nose, and tastes of pepper, blueberry, licorice, and blackberry. Given it’s a debut wine for Flinders Run, the score of 95 it received from Wine Spectator makes it all the more impressive.

For your backyard SWILL, match these wines easily with grilled meats and veggies. In fact, everything about your SWILL wine tasting party is designed to be easy, affordable and fun. The kit contains everything needed to host a wine tasting party for eight. And here’s more good news…invite as many people as you like using the SWILL Individual Taster Packets and club supplies. For details, visit www.swillparty.com and remember to outsmart high summer gas prices with the essential things in life - friends, wine, food and SWILL® wine fun.

More about SWILLparty
SWILL®, Several Wine Imbibers Liking Libations) was founded in 2003 on a cold winter night by Anne Conroy-Baiter as a means to make new friends and learn about wine. The first gathering had only 12 tasters, none of whom were serious wine aficionados. The group enjoyed the pressure-free party so much that they decided to do it again. With the club’s “invite a friend” policy, the invitation list has since grown from the 12 to 160+. In 2005, Conroy-Baiter and business partner, Eva Potter, founded SWILLparty, LLC. The partners used their many years of event planning and marketing experience to develop the SWILL® Wine Tasting and Club Starter Kit to encourage wine lovers to form their own social wine tasting parties. Kits are available at www.swillparty.com and were recently featured on FineLiving.com.

SWILL®…pairing people with wine!

Having a hard time decide which wines to buy for your SWILL wine party? Keep checking in because every other month we will post a ready-to-use listing of wines with ratings and reviews that you can immediately use for your next wine tasting party.

You can purchase these wines from online vendors or look for them at your local wine shop. Many will gladly order what you need, especially if you tell them you’re starting a wine tasting club - they’ll love the repeat business. To decipher ratings, just visit our How To Rate Wine Page.

Olean General Hospital hosted our annual Champagne SWILL wine club in February ‘08 at the Wheeler House, with fabulous food catered by the Old Library Restaurant. This was a very special event held in an old restored home in Portville, NY.

STATION #1
Mondoro Asti • $11.99
Mondoro is arguably the world’s finest Asti—and has been named the best of all sparkling wines in its price range (twice!) by Wine Enthusiast magazine. A slightly drier style, with crisp acidity to balance its complex peach and apricot fruit flavors, it’s perfect as a sophisticated aperitif or a match for fruit and desserts.

This is the second year in a row this wine has won a World Championship. It is a bubbly rife with the heady, highly grapey pleasures of the Muscat grape and a profusion of invigorating bubbles. A trifle sweet with nice crisp acidity giving it an elegant mouthfeel. Perfect for an aperitif, it tastes like biting into a ripe peach. Low in alcohol and a great value to boot. 94 Points Wine Enthusiast

STATION #2
Castello del Poggio Brachetto • $11.99
A red dolce sparkler from the Piedmonte region of Italy, beautifully crafted with sweet impressions of cherry and brown sugar spice; a delicious companion to your favorite chocolate dessert. 90 Points Beverage Dynamics

STATION #3
Cristalino Brut • $7.99
A sophisticated sparkler, this is a big, bold wine, with scents of spring blossoms, of cinnamon, spice and of sage, with a dry roasted almond flavor that keeps it firmly in Spain. Chill this for croquetas de bacalao. 91 Points Wine & Spirits

Named Number 3 on the Wine.com 100 of 2007! Straw color, smooth and fresh aromas; fine and fruity palate with a dry aftertaste. Clean, dry and crisp with citrus and apple flavors. Wine.com

STATION #4
Charles Heidsieck Brut Réserve • $39.99
Wine Enthusiast, Top 100 Wines of 2006 (#3) A big boy with almost fleshy fruit. The flavors push into exotic, tropical richness yet retain spicy citrus-rind-highlights. There is nothing clumsy, despite the ripeness; the finish seems to extend almost infinitely and keeps zinging you with surprises — marshmallow, marzipan, cookie dough, etc. A bonus: the back label clearly indicates when it was bottled and cellared (2001). 94 Points Wine Enthusiast, Top 100 Wines of 2006

Full-bodied and intensely flavored, this exhibits mature chaacteristics of candied fruit, coffee and vanilla pastry, along with fresh lemon and ginger accents. Seamless harmony and texture, with a long, long finish. Drink now through 2010. 92 Points Wine Spectator, Highly Recommended

STATION #5
2003 Schramsberg Blanc de Blancs • $27.99
Founded in 1862 by Jacob Schram, Napa Valley’s first hillside winery introduced America’s first Chardonnay-based sparkling wine in 1965 and has been the preferred toast of every presidential administration since it was served at the 1972 peace talks in Beijing. The current vintage shows tart, creamy fruit flavors of richness and dimension while retaining the delicacy of a Chardonnay-based cuvée.

This 100% Chardonnay is easily the best Schramsberg blanc de blancs to date. It’s so rich and luxurious in subtle lime, peach and brioche flavors, and so refined in its beautiful silky mouthfeel, and so long in the finish, you can’t help but love it. Gorgeous now, and should hold and even improve for the next six to eight years. 94 Points Wine Enthusiast, Editors’ Choice

Enjoy and, as always, drink responsibly.

For those interested in how the new wine demographic is shaping up, we at Swill can’t help but applaud this effort by the Pizza Pizza chain of restaurants.  For the Swillers I know, wine and pizza are both very dear to our hearts.  So it is about time a major chain has given a nod to the pizza chomping, wine swilling demographic that we so dearly belong. No anchovies please…….

Check it out:

http://www.pizzapizza.ca/english/pages/menu/pizza_wine.htm

The Swami

The good news on the street is that you’re drinking copious amounts of wine. Nothing wrong with that. The not-so-great news is that you’re fickle. What’s up with that? Wineries are whining about you guys not being brand loyal. Well, then they’ll just have to work a little harder to get your attention.

The stats also say you like to don’t like to be told what to drink and that you like to research your wines online. Personally, I think that shows great intellect! I don’t like being told what to drink either. However, I do love to try new and different wines. I’m always up for a good wine tasting. You never know when you’ll find something surprisingly delicious, so hopefully you will dive in with an open mind and clean palate.

Hosting a SWILL wine tasting party is a fabulous way to taste lots of different wines with little expense. It’s something fun you can do with your friends and colleagues. SWILL wine tastings are dymanic parties that keep people interested and engaged. Best part is, they’re not stuffy, you don’t need any wine expertise to participate and enjoy, and they’re so simple to organize. And, if you do know a thing or two about wine, you’ll keep expanding your palate database and have a great time with like-minded people. What more could you ask?

Try it just once, and I can guarantee you’ll want to host another, and another, and another, and … you get the idea. So, why not just skip to the part where you start your own wine tasting club. SWILL clubs are now located all over the country, and they’ve all begun with a SWILL Wine Tasting and Club Starter Kit and wine club supplies. Try it today!

Cheers! Eva