Can we just reminisce on the days of early 2020? When everyone hopped on Netflix to watch Tiger King, everyone was always on Zoom trying to figure virtual life out, and when wine and toilet paper were staples of grocery shopping? What happened to those days that blurred together after being locked up for months on lockdown orders?
Well, I got tired of doing nothing. The creativity DIY energy lost it’s sparkle, just like eating banana bread and drinking the same wine every week. Don’t get me wrong, I love Chateau Ste. Michelle as much as any other Washingtonian… but it was time to try something new! So I used the Googles to find In Good Taste. A wine company that hosts virtual wine tasting events for friends and family. All you have to do is order the kits, pick a date, and voila!
What’s in the kit?
The one we chose to go with was the Wines from Down Under. It is a selection of 8 different wines from New Zealand and Australia. The box comes in beautiful glass jars that can be reused for oils and sauces, it actually contained 2 stoppers to use! Had I opened the package earlier, I would have been able to prepare my tasting with foods recommended in their tasting guide. Luckily, charcuterie boards go very well with wine. You must order 6 kits minimum in order to verify your reservation. They will verify this through the order numbers. I found it was easier to collect everyone’s addresses, and pay with one card. The website allows you to enter multiple addresses making it easy to verify the orders.
Our Sommelier
Our host was Ashley, from In Good Taste. She did a fantastic job educating us on the history of the wines. She is a certified professional sommelier, and actually has the hometown of El Paso! She was very friendly, and courteous about waiting for everyone to hop on the zoom call. It was very easy to talk to her during the tasting, which made the experience comfortable - we will definitely be booking through Ashley when new wine flights are released.
How did I like the wines? Was it worth it?
The wine packages run for $65 USD, and are delivered straight to your door with an adult signature required. They recommend ordering the wines at least 2 weeks prior to the event. Your Sommelier will email you beforehand with some tips on how to prepare each wine for the tasting. Out of the 8 wines we tried, I only disliked one because it was too much tobacco flavor for me. My favorites from the flight Orange Belly Chardonay from Tasmania and the Grimson Rosella from Adelaide. Fun fact, I almost moved to Adelaide when I was 18 to attend culinary school there. I definitely think that the wine flight and experience was well worth the money!
