Start a wine club at home

Wine clubs are the new book clubs – and with so many internationally renowned wines available, starting a wine club makes perfect sense.

It is also a lot of fun and an interactive way to get to know your wine in the company of new and old friends.

Maryna Strachan, managing editor at Wine-Extra magazine and consultant to the Tops at Spar wine show, a national wine exhibition that tours South Africa every year between May and November said, “You do not need to be a wine expert and you certainly do not need to have a wine A-Z on hand to understand what to do.”

Top tips on starting a wine club and which wines to try:

•  Twenty people are enough for a wine club, more will increase costs and make the tasting less intimate, and you can share 20 samples per 750ml bottle.
•  Plan a theme night once you know who’ll be attending and how often. Use wines under R40 to get started.
•  Keep it simple by choosing a Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay or Chenin Blanc for the whites and a Shiraz for red. Rosé wines are either sweet or dry, so consider trying both to compare their characters. For something a bit special, you could even have a bubbly night.
•  Everyone at the tasting should drink from the same shape and size glass. Tasting notes can be found in Platter’s wine guide, on the back of the bottle, or on the wine farm’s website. Supply your club members with a few buckets or cups to spit in, this will ensure everyone maintains a lucid and discerning approach to the tasting and for those who are designated drivers. Plain crackers are also essential to help neutralise your palate.
•  Let a bottle of wine breathe before tasting. This includes the white and rosé. In doing so, the flavours and aromas are loosened and exposed. Also, make sure you smell the wine before pouring to ensure it’s not corked. Look out for a musty smell. If the wine has oxidised, white wine will appear rusty orange, or brown if it is a red.
•  Swirl the wine in the glass and smell again to stimulate your olfactory senses. Then sip and swirl the wine around in your mouth before spitting (or swallowing, if you prefer). If you want to take your wine club to the next level, introduce a wine scoring method such as the 20- or 100-point method, or even just a star rating.
•  If you pick up berries or cinnamon on the nose, then that’s how you’ll describe the wine. Common flavours in white wine are freshly cut grass, asparagus, tropical fruit or butterscotch, depending on the varietal, and in red you’ll often hear descriptions of spices or coffee.
•  If you want to get the best out of your tasting, don’t chew gum, smoke, brush your teeth or wear perfume or cologne just before tasting. A clean palate is essential in picking up different tasting notes in every wine.
•  With more than 6 000 wines available in South Africa you’ll never run out of wine to taste.

The next wine show takes place from 12 to 14 May at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Details: Tickets can be purchased pre-show for R160 from www.wineshow.co.za or at the door for R180.