The emphasis is on fun and light-hearted team competition, though guests learn a few skills that help them at restaurants or at home.
The scene is set with a punchy "Virtual tour of the palate" - 10 minutes of comedic instruction to get the taste buds working.
Challenge 1 - Food and Wine Matching Challenge
As the meal begins, teams are given three wines to taste with the chosen menu (they taste each of the three with each course) and they need to say just how well each wine balances with the food, not just which goes best with which.
Challenge 2 - Quick Fire Quizzes
In between each course teams test their newly found wine knowledge in these highly entertaining personalised quizzes. Information on the group is gleaned prior to the evening and details are woven into the quizzes.
Challenge 3 - Blind Tasting Dinner
After coffee, teams are given two clear decanters of wine to identify with the assistance of testing charts. Speed is of the essent. Teams will need to work together to assess the correct country, grape and vintage of the wines given.
Challenge 4 - Whose Wine Is It Anyway?
Your group receives an urgent telephone call from a major wine merchant. They need a new wine for a client immediately, though they don't know which country's to choose. Using a range of country themed props each team has to develop a new blend to represent a particular wine making country.
The catch is that the merchant requires a humorous and eye catching label to adorn the bottle and a frivolous tasting note to appeal to a market with a highly developed sense of humour. The teams then present the blend to the gathered audience with hilarious results.
The event takes place at the dining tables and involves no extra space, equipment of assistance from the venue. We select the wines from their list in advance to your usual budget and prepare as much fun as your guests can handle.