Question about Wine Seminars > Wine Forums - THE Wine Forum - On VinoCellar.com

Home

Wine Forums

Wine Education

Wine Links

Wine Videos

Wine Search

Help

Sunday, July 06, 2008

You are here : Wine Forums

VinoCellar.com Wine Forums

Unanswered Active Topics

Forums Search

Forums > 100% Wine Related Discussions - No Exceptions > Wine Learning Center

Subject: Question about Wine Seminars

Prev Next

You are not authorized to post a reply.

Author

Messages

ChangeMe

Grape Stomper
Posts:172

05/12/2006 12:30 PM
The restaurant I manage will be introducing wine seminars in the fall. It is a fairly small, casual fine dining restaurant specializing in contemporary Italian cuisine. We have developed a reputation for having a very good wine list with fair prices, and consistently good food. We are still in the planning stages, and have been toying with different formats. My question(s) are for those of you who have attended or would consider attending similar events. Specifically: a) what worked for you at these events, what didn't? b) as far as themes go, what would you find interesting? c) how long should the seminar be? How long is too long? d) Should the number of attendees be capped? How many people is too many? e) what is an attractive price point? f) to question e, would a package of wine seminar followed by dinner be of interest, and if so how much would you be willing to pay for a package deal ? Any and all opinions are welcome and appreciated!

ChangeMe

Grape Sorter
Posts:261

05/13/2006 8:30 PM
Quote: a) what worked for you at these events, what didn't? Be very organized! If you are not, it definitely puts a damper on the fun. Make sure that you give the right amount of time for participant to discuss wine amongst themselves and ask questions. Have time before and after for the participants to socialize. I think it makes for a more fun and participatory atmosphere. b) as far as themes go, what would you find interesting? Are you only working with Italian wines? I always enjoy learning about obscure Italian varietals, but I think everyone enjoys going to an in depth analysis of a particular varietal with many examples from around the world to try. c) how long should the seminar be? How long is too long? I could go to wine seminars all day, so anything would be fine for me, but my girlfriend is more apt to enjoy the seminar if only lasts between 2 and 3 hours. d) Should the number of attendees be capped? How many people is too many? Yes, it should be capped. Well, it first depends on the size of the space being used and the number of people you have to help, but I would say that when I am at wine tastings and seminars, I prefer to be in a group of less than 40 people. Sometimes even smaller. e) what is an attractive price point? Depends on what you are offering. For a 2 1/2 hour seminar with 5-6 wines, I would say $50-$90, depending on the wines. f) to question e, would a package of wine seminar followed by dinner be of interest, and if so how much would you be willing to pay for a package deal? Absolutely, that would be great. If you could do that for a little over $100 per person, I would definitely attend something like that.

David Niederauer User is Offline

Los Gatos, CA

Master Sommelier
Posts:15711

05/16/2006 8:09 PM
I believe that 99% of the people out there just want to taste. Maybe a few "facts" thrown in once in a while but the #1 thing they want to do is TASTE! There is a local restaurant that puts on "wine tastings" once a month. On the first Friday night of every month at 7:00pm they have the tasting. It is in theory by invitation only but they send the invitation by email to their whole customer list. They limit the number of attendees to 20 people. Every month the somm. picks a different variatle and tells the people who want to attend to bring "a quality" bottle of that variatle to share. They also charge $10. When the people arrive the bottles are bagged and numbered. People sit around four or five tables with four (joker) glasses at each setting (you can byo glasses if you want). The bags are passed around and everyone pours their own glasses. If one wants they can order food from the bar menu. After all the wines have been tasted they unbag the wines. They don't vote or anything; one just finds if they like or dislike particular wines. I gotta say the people all have a great time. I hate it! The people are really fun but their wine knowledge is (he said snobbly) limited. When the restaurant first started doing this a couple of years ago the 20-person limit was not a problem. Now it is. They average around 30 people (the restaurant thinks, of course, the more the merrier). Needless to say that everyone doesn't get to taste all of the wines but most of them could care less. All they know is that they have a fun two hours drinking lots of wines at a very nice restaurant with a lot of fun people for 10-bucks and bringing a wine that was on special at the grocery store. It is indeed a cheap date not to mention a cheap drunk. And the restaurant is happy because they get the exposure and many of the people do stay for dinner. Recent email: Quote: Hello Everyone, June 2 we will be tasting Syrahs from around the world! The wine tasting will start at 7pm. Each person must bring a bottle of wine from that varietal. If you are coming as a couple you may bring one bottle. Please bring a bottle that is of good quality. The cost is $10 per person. Please call 408-867-4711 to be placed on the list. We can only take a maximum of 20 people. If there are any varietal that you would like to see in the future, please call us or e-mail Paul at paul@plumedhorse.com Don't forget that our lounge has live music every Friday and Saturday Night starting at 8pm and Happy Hour Monday thru Friday until 6:30pm Live band this Friday, May 19- Mike Schermer Band Saturday, May 20 - Frank Barbas Trio If you have received this e-mail an error and would like to be taken off the list, please respond to this e-mail with "remove" in the subject line. info@plumedhorse.com Sincerely, Plumed Horse www.plumedhorse.com ph:408-867-4711 .

You are not authorized to post a reply.

Forums > 100% Wine Related Discussions - No Exceptions > Wine Learning Center > Question about Wine Seminars

ActiveForums 3.7