With the surgical removal of the cancerous tumour in my left parotid gland
and subsequent radio and chemotherapy, I’ve not been able to conduct corporate
wine tastings for most of this year.
However in anticipation of my recovery and as a goal setting exercise, I
scheduled one tasting in – a wine options game - for the latter part of November. It was with one of my long-time legal
clients, and the annual event is seen as a fun get-together with the people
of one of their important contracts, and a thank you to them. It’s always fun, extremely well-done with
good catering and one function I love participating in.
Teams must try to answer multi-choice questions on three white and three
red wines that are served ‘blind’ to them.
It is consensus decision making and promotes interaction between the
participants, the competitive nature making the game exciting. Many of my clients used wine options as a
team building exercise. Scores are
allocated for correct answers, and with my system, a maximum possible score is
150 points, but breaking the ‘ton’ barrier, or 100 points is very creditable.
The wines that were served at this game were:
P. Jacqueson Rully 1er Cru
‘Gresigny’ 2007
Spade Oak Gisborne Viognier 2007
Von Kesselstatt Josephhof Riesling
Spatlese 2003
Vynfields Reserve Pinot Noir 2007
Saltram ‘Mamre Brook’ Barossa
Shiraz 2006
Trapiche ‘SV-Fausto Orellana’
Malbec 2005
It was a closely contested game with the winning team scoring 95 points
and the runners-up just 5 points behind.
An extra wine was added in between the whites and the reds where attendees
participated on an individual basis, playing ‘last man standing’. Here, an Instinct Hawke’s Bay Syrah 2007 was
served, and a young partner from the legal firm, who is a keen wine lover won
the prize of a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin ‘Yellow Label’ Champagne for winning.
Wine Options is the most popular of the ‘corporate wine tastings’ that I
run. I’m looking forward to resuming
with them in 2010. Contact me if you
want to arrange one or for more information on Tel: 04 385-6952 or email: raymond@regionalwines.co.nz
- Raymond Chan