Maybe something fun to do when you organize your own wine tasting with friends: a few cheeses of different consistency and flavors (I recommend Aniata cheese shop in the Flower Hill mall), some cold cuts, pâté and such with of course a lot of crusty bread, five or six bottles of special wines and just enjoy each other company... By special, you must read interesting, it is summer time so make sure you include a couple of bottles of "rosé" and I mean a dry rosé like everyone drinks in Europe in the summer: a Provence wine and a dry California rose like Phelps or Miner, wines that have nothing in common with these white Zinfandel that are sickeningly sweet!..You should as well incorporate in the tasting Rhone varietals like Viognier, a Marssanne or Roussanne, or perhaps a Sauvignon Blanc or Sancerre, anything but Chardonnays (I find them too overwhelming in general to be enjoyed as aperitifs), incorporate a Pinot Noir from Santa Lucia and one from Russian River, maybe a Syrah from either the Rhone or Australia, and the fun has just begun! I like to brown bag all the bottles - you can sneak in a cult wine - so that no one is "label conscious", create some tasting sheets for notes and ratings (wine #1, 2, etc..) then, towards the end of the event, an hour or so later, tally the results, unveil the bottles and read the compiled opinions, usually it is an amazing process that makes for a very entertaining afternoon or evening.

You can tell I am bored with the one dimensional, all taste the same, Cabs, Merlots or Chardonnays, I feel that a complex wine is just that: one that draws its complexity from an assemblage of different varietals taking the best of each "c?page", adding a particular aroma or scent to the finish product, maybe hiding the rough edges of a Cabernet Sauvignon by bringing in the soft tannins of a Cab Franc or introducing the lush fruit of a Merlot in case of Meritage wines (same as a Bordeaux blend).

So, in closing, experiment and try some Spanish Albariño or Tempranillo, a Rioja or an Italian Pinot Grigio, a Tocai Friulano or an Austrian Gruner Veltliner, a German Riesling or an Argentinean Malbec, you get the idea!

Enjoy and discover the world of wines...