Have you ever wondered what it’s like to Host a Traveling Vineyard wine tasting? Introducing Tasting Stories from Traveling Vineyard, where we bring you inside a real wine tasting party and tell you what made the event memorable and fun for the Host and their Guests! Tasting Stories are inspired by Five Star reviews submitted by real Hosts.
We’re kicking off our Tasting Stories series with a tale of Chardonnay and surprise at a wine tasting event hosted by Alicia Farrow in Tampa, Florida.
Alicia’s event was conducted by Ashley Incorvaia, a longtime Wine Guide, who lives and sips in Safety Harbor, Florida. The two met at a local vendor event and hit it off right away. “Ashley seemed like so much fun, I knew I had to have a tasting,” says Alicia.
From there, Alicia and Ashley decided to plan a wine tasting event featuring simple and affordable food pairings—items a Host might already have at home, like cheddar cheese and fresh berries. Many Hosts choose this style of wine tasting because it’s so easy, and allows plenty of time to sip and mingle!
Ashley brought five complimentary bottles of wine for Alicia’s Guests to sample, which is standard practice at a Traveling Vineyard wine tasting party. (In fact, it’s an instant Host Reward earned just for having friends over for food and fun!)
The most memorable moments from Alicia’s wine tasting event, Ashley says, were the AHA! wine moments, which happen to be her favorite part of being a Wine Guide. With each of the five wines, Wine Guides provide tasting tips and a sip or two of wine wisdom, like where the grapes were grown and what makes one varietal different from another. Ashley loved watching Alicia and her Guests—all wine lovers—discover new things about wine.
“Alicia’s Guests were extremely engaging and very interested in learning more about wine. They had been drinking wine for years, but had never done the four steps of properly tasting wine!”
Alicia, who is admittedly not a Chardonnay drinker, found one she loved after tasting it at her event—our 2016 Peekaboo Chardonnay, South Eastern Australia.
“I finally tasted a Chardonnay that I actually liked and bought … that’s a first!”
Ashley prepared a casual and engaging presentation unique to Alicia and her Guests’ interests ahead of time, and then used Traveling Vineyard’s awesomm app to successfully share wine facts and techniques with the group at the event.
“My tasting group had tons of questions and comments,” Alicia says. “We really enjoyed everything she shared with us–from how
Interested in becoming a Wine Guide? Here are five good reasons you should join Traveling Vineyard.
Alicia’s favorite part of the experience was getting together with her wine-drinking friends and tasting the different wines.
“Ashley made everything easy and fun. Even if you think you don’t like wine … it’s probably only because you haven’t tried Traveling Vineyard,” she says.
We tend to agree (ahem)—but what really warms our wine-lovin’ hearts is the community that happens at a wine tasting party. Wine Guide Ashley measures her success in the same way.
“At the end of the night I judge how the tasting went based on how many hugs I get,” says Ashley. “My Hosts and Guests really do become my friends!”
If you’re interested in Hosting a Traveling Vineyard wine tasting at home, drop us a line and we will connect you with a Wine Guide near you.