KathyWdrf

I agree with EB1K. Don't mess with success.

Keep it loose. Too many rules/too much structure is unnecessary.

mjm

This is a gathering of friends, new and old, a mixture of new faces, and a generally welcome to anyone that signs up in time sort of event.

If it were going to be a wine geek dinner we should label it as such and limit the wines brought to a very specific theme as is done in most better wine dinners the world over.

This is however not that.

So how to manage it?
1. A theme
2. A minimum price point
3. Some distinction between themed “my contribution” bottles, and fun extra “because I thought it would be fun to share this with everyone” bottles.

1. and 2. have been very well managed by his lordship from Breuckelen.

I think the theme was pretty clearly spelled out this time. People seem to be generally adhering to it as well.

I think the $35 minimum is about $10-15 too low, but it does allow a broader cross section of FT members to feel as though they would like to join. Such is community.

To make the dinner more about the “themed” bottles though I would set up a side table for the extras and have them there with small neck tags saying who brought it in case the person tasting wished to discuss it with them etc.

The “themed” bottles could continue being placed on various tables as they are now. Now real need to mess with that success. The separation to a different table of the extras would serve a few purposes.

It would distinguish them as the wines which although maybe not within the theme are there to be shared and enjoyed a well.

It would allow the movement of people as they got up to walk to that side table and pour a sip or two. Movement of people makes for more varied conversation and interaction.

Those that want to taste through themed wines without distraction can do so and those that want to add more to what they have that night can do so also. A win-win.

I would consider opening the doors 30 minutes early for the extras to be tasted as that is where the bubbles often reside on the list.

I do dinners such as this 2-3 times a month and they come in all shapes and sizes so to speak. This one has a personality already and refining it slightly as described here would enhance it I believe but the main thing I get from this dinner is most people enjoy it largely as it is.

dhammer53

All good points.

This is my suggestion.

We have 24 bottles + bonus bottles of varying price. I'm going to offer first pours on the original 24; and then, everyone can help themselves to pours of the bonus bottles whenever they want, without involvement of the host. This way, I don't tell you what to drink, and when to drink it.

We'll keep future WineDo events flowing the same way. No pun intended.
There will come a time in the future when the buy-in will go up. If UA/AA/SWA and DAL can have redemption inflation, so can we. Unlike the airlines, our increases will be modest.

dh

Eastbay1K

Or you could simply remove the price limitation and put each wine through the Swill-O-Scope.

aacharya

That was somewhat my thought concerning bonus bottles, as they can always distract from the theme. I know why people want to bring them, but it has to be limited. Hence my proposal for pre-approval, before posting on the list. (Maybe a surprise is the wrong word).

I do agree themed tables force assignment, but then you are forcing assignment based on personal requirements/preferences - which is much more amenable than "wedding"-style assignments.

Maybe we need to have a pre- or post- WineDo (over some wine) to hash some of these great ideas out in person.

challett

I vote pre-Do with some bubbles.

dhammer53

Now that's a suggestion we can all agree on.

Eastbay1K

Until this year, I don't recall we've ever had a theme. As far as "pre-approval," this event hasn't been really "rule-driven," and honestly, no one has to take a pour or accept a pour of anything. Further, anyone can just take a little sip out of curiosity and spit it out, or pour the rest out. If there was a "Wines of South America" theme and someone brought an obscure bonus Croatian white, it wouldn't need its own table to separate it from the crowd.

That said, Dan ultimately holds the Hammer in what happens.

KathyWdrf

I agree.

To be honest, I have NEVER taken sips of all 24 wines, let alone all wines including the bonus bottles! That is just too much wine for me, and I want to remain able to walk out the door at the end of the night, get on the subway, and return to my hotel without incident!

Pooch

^^^^

serfty

Good lord!

Where is this heading?

I'm with Dan:One day I'll be there, to an event hopefully not too different from the genesis ...

dhammer53

One of the wine boards that I read is doing a dinner with themed tables.

This dinner will happen 10 days before our dinner.

================================================== ======================================


June 5 dinner - count = 25

Old world table (burg/Barolo majority):
Josh
Matt
Sam
Julieanne
Seth
Paul
Leo
Jay
Peter
Diane
Gary

Wines w/ Flavor (possible 2000 Bordeaux slant):
Ami
Jay
Andrew
John

Table TBD:
Brian
Adam
Corey
D.
Greg

This group will still taste around other tables if they want to. I've attended theme dinners in the past, and they're fun. I'm looking forward to WineDo7; with themed Napa/Sonoma wines and champagne, as we honor one of the original WineDo members, our dear friend Mike cordelli.

Dan

cfischer

Too much disucssion about the price of a bottle ... for those of us flying in just for the wine dinner it's by far the smallest expense. I have no problem raising the limit but then again I have some $30 bottles in my fridge which beat many $100 bottles hands down. One way to perhaps go about it is say 'minimum price' on wine-searcher (for example) cannot be under $35 that way we can guard against overpriced shops selling stuff at inflated prices.
I like the themed tables idea as long as one can wander around and try other things. Champagne table vs. Bordeaux vs. Sancerre etc. sounds like fun
One could also do Europe vs. US vs. AU/NZ vs. xxxx .

monitor

I sort of agree with cfischer about the price point thing since price is not a firm indicator of quality and many American wines bought at the wineries and tasting rooms, even the very good and great ones are way overpriced It does appear to me that not infrequently the producers price at the point they need to survive financially.

That subject is of interest to me since I am contemplating bringing one of two very good Sonoma Coast Pinot Noirs to the dinner. One was bought for $40-45 at a vintner's tasting room in Healdsburg. The other cost about $25 at a wine shop (actually the back room of a restaurant somewhere out there where the retail stock was kept in the original corrugated shipping boxes ). There is virtually no difference in the style or the quality of these wines and a look on winesearcher puts the second at $35-40 for that vintage only.

I will decide on which to bring in the next few days and will post here. As we have done before, we will bring a bonus bottle of bubbly.

dhammer53

Bolding mine.
I think you hit the nail on the head cfischer.

This brainstorming the past couple of days has put solid ideas on the table for WineDo 8, and maybe WineDo 7.5.

dh