Wine and Cheese and Laughter

Two weeks ago I had what was probably the most fun night out I have had since moving to New York! It was my first home wine tasting party. Hosted by Dave and Michelle. Of course, Michael Jackson was there too. (And by Michael Jackson, I mean their incredibly smart three year old daughter who pretends to be MJ. Dancing, singing, costume changes, the works. Adorable!)

There were about 14 of us gathered. Everyone was instructed to bring either a red wine that was specific to a region or relating to their heritage, or a type of cheese. We had to prepare little speeches describing our fare, informing the group what made our offering special and which also helped in the guessing of which wine was which. The presentations were almost my favorite part. (My favorite part of the evening is yet to come.)

We then tasted each wine and had to rate it and guess who brought it based on their descriptions. Ellie brought a wine from Romania (Transylvania maybe?) and had something to do with werewolves in her presentation. How do you guess which wine goes with human flesh??? Hilarious!

So after tasting 8 different types of wine (and feeling a little twisted in the process) we rated and guessed who brought what, and the winner with the most right answers was...a Three Way Tie. So after a wine trivia Q & A, the winner was...a Two Way Tie. And how do you break a Two Way Tie? Why with a Talent Show, of course!

And this was my favorite part of the evening. Ralph doing his Michael Jackson moonwalk and Steve with his Mick Jagger strut. Two of the most quiet and reserved men who allowed a room filled with friends chanting "Talent Show, Talent Show" to intimidate them into performing so they could "win" the wine tasting contest. I laughed until my sides hurt and tears nearly rolled down my cheeks. Yes, a night to remember. Total cost: $13 in cheese and crackers. Memories: Priceless!