This Date Night was entitled, Wine, Cheese and Games. This particular Date took me about a week and a half to prepare for. One of the things that Ed was unaware of is that I also included a couple of group dates within the 12 Date Nights. This was one of them. I invited 3 other couples over for a Wine Tasting Party. The theme was Napa Valley vs Sonoma County wines. We were going to do a blind tasting. I bought 2 each, and 1 from each location, of Zinfandel, Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Chardonnay, and Riesling. The bottles were covered and numbered. I also purchased and prepared a ridiculous amount of food to pair with the wines. I have issues with portions when I am preparing any kind of food. I did about a 15 minute presentation on wine tasting and comparisons and food pairings. We started off the evening with Champagne. I dropped a Wild Hibiscus flower in each champagne glass before pouring. These flowers are edible and were marinated in a syrup. They seemed to bloom as the champagne was poured in and added a wonderful flavor to the champagne. Those that ate the flowers compared the texture and taste to an apricot or a fig. I was too freaked out to try it. We then did an experiment with a bottle of Merlot to show how much food pairings affect the taste of the wines. Then we started in on the tasting. To go backwards for a moment, I spent the week before the Date discussing wines with local experts and visiting several wine shops. I also did a ton of research online. I purchased enough red, white, and champagne glasses for each guest. I took all of them and dipped the bases in chalkboard paint so that the guests could keep track of their glasses by writing their names on their glasses. Unfortunately the paint did not hold up well when I washed the glasses before having the guests put them in their gift bags to take home. I’m not sure if that project was a total bust or if I just didn’t purchase the right kind of chalkboard paint…Yes there are several kinds. I also spray painted boards with chalkboard paint to write the food items down on. I printed up sheets for everyone to keep track of the various aspects of the wines and to make their comparisons and vote on each wine variety. By the way, Napa won. It was close though. I also had trivia questions for everyone to work on during the party. We didn’t totally get to the games at the end…the whole tasting lasted a little longer than I had thought but it was still a great night and I really enjoyed myself. I think everyone else did as well, including Ed Beczynski. Thanks for making the evening a succes: Tom Pounds, Liljana May Brescol, Kenny Henry, Patty Henry, Richard Rideout and Janet Rideout. Oh and I totally forgot to get a picture of Ed and I together:-( that’s what happens when you are drinking wine…