Wine + Dine 2012

Who doesn't love a good chalkboard sign?!

The Spread
Assorted Crackers, Cheese, Grapes, Milk + Dark Chocolate

I'm prepping on how to instruct my connoisseurs on how to best taste theirs wines.
Amy is totally keeping me company and making sure I stay on task.  That's her serious face.  :)

The Score Card

The Wine Doctor was so on top of her game. Someone called me that at some point during the evening and of course it stuck.

That's my serious face.

Examining the appearance of the wine.  Like.A.Champ.

Can I just say that he LOVED his 27th birthday.  LOVED.IT.

Yes, I spilled the wine.  This was the finale where the wine bottles raced to the finish line.  Not actually, but each person tallied their own score card and we moved around the table and each wine moved a space forward as it was chosen by each individual.  At the end, whichever bottle was furthest ahead was the winner.  There was probably a better way to do that, but it was a blast anyway.

The Birthday Boy + Winning Bottle of Wine
Masked Rider, Gunsmoke Red

Amy and Caleb brought the first and second place bottle of wine.  The runner-up was Snap Dragon's Chardonnay

Middle Sister, California Red (a 3rd place wine).
Amy happens to be the very middle sibling AND the middle sister, at that!  She was pretty sassy about it.

Firing up the grill.
Steak, Salmon, Asparagus, Potato Salad, Strawberry Pecan Salad and a french loaf. Oh, and Lemon Merigue Pie to wash it all down!

Caleb was our Dinner Server for the night.  Nicely done, as always.

A birthday gift for the birthday boy.  Yes, it's a Whole Foods grocery bag, rolled down with a big, ol' piece of masking tape to finish it off.  Side note, the gift was from Amy and Caleb, however, I will say, Amy did NOT do the wrapping of it.

Peruvian Coffee Beans, ground especially for Turkish Coffee.  He loves making Turkish Coffee.

Gotta smell it!

Reading his card...

Our humble dishwasher, Erin, showing off our serving tray for the camera lady, Janell.  Who, by the way, took 95% of all of these pictures.  HUGE thank you to Janelly!

I can't even begin to describe what a fabulous time we had.  Dustin had been wanting to go to a swanky wine bar close to our house, but he'd never been and it was a bit pricey, and the food was only appetizer-esque. Amy and Janell came up with the great idea to do a "homemade" wine tasting.  I loved it, threw it together in 2 days, and ended up with a husband that was the happiest I've ever seen him about his own birthday.

Each guest brought their own bottle of wine, which was kept a secret so as not to influence anyone's opinion.  The bottles were hidden in brown bags (got for free from the wine store), tied up with twine, and I printed numbers out on my home printer onto a full sheet label (4 numbers per sheet).  I also quizzed my gurus knowledge of wine with multiple choice trivia in between each tasting.

This is definitely a great way to celebrate a birthday for someone who isn't keen on gifts, or who has everything already.

Who says you need a birthday for an excuse to have a wine tasting party?!

I have PDF files of the score cards, the numbers, wine trivia and wine tasting instructions for anyone who's interested.  Just leave a comment or email or facebook me!


Keep Posted,

the rave