A virtual wine tasting

Last Sunday was something of a first: a virtual wine tasting.

I invited about 12 people but with  declines and dropouts the final number was 6. The day before I spoke to the wine tutor and event organiser expressing a concern that the group might be unfamiliar with the technology which was not Zoom.

I said almost certainly someone would have difficulty in logging in but I did not anticipate that person would be me.

Only through my mobile could I participate and that was after the first white wine from Mt Etna Sicily had been considered.

The next two wines were a full bodied Pomerol (Chateau Plince 2009)and the final one a Barberesco (Baraja 2009) from Piedmont. The Pomerol is a Rolls Royce Bordeaux – rich and heady but probably best accompanied by meat, a gamey stew or a pasta ragu.

Similarly the Barberesco, which some term the poor man’s Barolo, requires a robust eating pairing.

All the wines were delicious but my aftertaste on the event is that wine tasting is social and not virtual. The tutor did send out a recording so at least I could follow what I missed

I prefer the actual wine tastings where in a hotel I enjoy watching a group attending the Wine School getting tipsy, the noise levels rising, the inhibitions dropping – but this was too controlled with interaction by a chat room function.