Serve it first?, Serve it last?, Serve it cool or serve it cold? With cheese, nuts, fruit, or pate? Oh, the dilemmas of entertaining with wine. Yet an evening with wine can truly be a pleasure, even an adventure. Where do we start? The most important aspect- Your guests. Wine is pretty special but not as special as people. The evening may be to learn and explore wine, but mainly to enjoy it... there won't be a test later! Also, the combination of your guests matters. I remember one evening we had friends for a tasting, who varied greatly in their knowledge of wine. By the middle of the evening half were showing an intense display of enthusiasm, while the other half were drifting off to sleep! In choosing a theme for the evening, you're limited only by your imagination. Perhaps try wine by varietal, such as Sauvignon Blanc from around the world, or a "vertical" (consecutive years of the same wine from the same vineyard). You can explore a specific country, such as Spain or Chile, even narrowing it to a select region such as Loire France. Having a map shows where the region or even vineyards are located. If you're exploring regions of Australia, see if you can find Mugee, Yulumber or Coonerwarra!

Special events add to the experience such as the new millennium. We wanted to taste something that never saw the 20th century. We acquired a Port from 1844 and asked friends to research events of that year. As we sat together after midnight, opening that special bottle, we talked of the past and learnt that in 1844 Strauss composed a famous waltz, Darwin published Origin of the Species and Karl Marx was preaching communism. These grapes had been harvested and crushed by hand and transported on a donkey pulled cart. A century later, it was bid for online, flown on a jet across the Atlantic and finally sipped and appreciated on the morning of the 21st century. What a night of reminiscing with thoughts of our past and future.

On a more casual occasion, each couple could bring a bottle of their favorite wine paired with an hors d'oeuvre. This brings us to the third element of the evening....food. What a perfect combination- people, wine and food. Ah! The way it is meant to be. Of course the food and wine pairing issue is not exactly simple. As Mary Ewing says," it's about as simple as boy meets girl." Isn't that the truth? Meeting is the easy part. The right chemistry is another thing entirely. Wine and food paring may not be so complex or heart breaking, but it's still important. Though we could spend hours, just one suggestion-rather than having food or wine that compete with each other, try a pairing that complements and enhances each other. For example, the tannin in walnuts would probably make your fabulous Bordeaux almost undrinkable, yet walnuts and Stilton cheese with Port is a heavenly combination. Now that the right "chemistry" is in full swing for the evening, let's talk about the actual wine tasting.

The experience is heightened we not only taste new wines we enjoy, but to discover why. Tasting notes are not only interesting but also imperative in creating our "wine memory". As we concentrate and make notes on the appearance, the bouquet and then finally, the pallet, we learn to define and catalogue mentally what we sense, enjoy and recognize. Now our personal relationship with wine really begins. Next, as we share notes, it's always amazing how each person reveals something special we missed entirely... "Oh, yes, that's what it was...freshly cut grass." Lastly, for a perfect evening, you must remember these strict rules: Don't take yourself too seriously. Don't make your guest pass a written exam, and don't remember any strict rules. Just enjoy a wonderful evening and if the chemistry is just right, maybe boy will meet girl.