Last Christmas, I gave ABF a "membership" to The Finer Things Club, an Office-inspired club with just us two members. Over the past few months I've set up things to do: wine tasting classes, an olive-oil tasting/cooking demo at Williams-Sonoma, etc. They're usually fun, slightly-fancy things that make us feel a little cultured, though we have included more rustic activities such as our walk through the Nature reserve on Long Island's Fire Island. Deer! Birds! Lighthouses!
Our latest FTC trip took us to New York Vintners, just steps from City Hall. They welcomed us with glasses of chilled Prosecco, a sparkling wine from Veneto, Italy. It was delicious--not too sweet, not overpoweringly bubbly. So far, so good. Cheers!
The store is a very cool space that can fit 2-80 people...depending on how they want to move the wall (which contains their small office in the middle of the space). The back includes a kitchen, because they're very big on marrying food with wine (ditto!) They told us that just the other night, some couple had rented it out for dinner. They moved the wall closer to the kitchen, dimmed the lights, and added some candles--awwww. At our tasting, there were 30 people. It was a tight fit, but the wine sure helped make it all go easier ;) Funny how that works.
If you take one of their classes (and I would gladly do so again), you will learn a lot. We were sharing a table with some bubbly, chatty girls who were way ahead of our intructors. They tasted all the wines before he'd even finished describing the first one! I, being the 2 marshmallow kid that I am, waited to go along with the teacher (NERD! Guilty)
Our instructors were clearly passionate about pinot noir--and other wines. They explained how the pinot noir grape is the most difficult to grow: it's most prone to rot, most vulnerable to frost (as it can grow earlier/faster than other grapes), and yet it's also one of the most rewarding to taste. I definitely developed a new appreciation for this grape! We tasted pinot noirs from Oregon, California, Italy, and Burgundy, France. I am not normally a fan of Burgundies, having taken a Burgundy class with Laura once and feeling underwhelmed, but I'm slowly learning to appreciate them. In this class, the 2 burgundies were favorites of Kevin and mine. The California pinot noir was also delicious.
We each took a bottle home (of the 2 Burgundies)... you know, for extra credit. :)
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