THIS WINE EVENT HAPPENED IN FEBRUARY, AND MANDREA BIKE FELT THAT IT WAS BETTER LATE THAN NEVER TO SHARE WITH OUR FRIENDS. WE HOPE YOU’RE ALL PRACTISING SAFE PHYSICAL DISTANCING AND ENJOYING A FEW NICE GLASSES OF WINE.

Must-try Wine: Georgia United Stars Mukuzani Dry with Saperavi Grapes
Price: $16 at LCBO

Besides eating, Mandrea Bike enjoys nothing more than to drink a nice glass of red wine perhaps paired with some beautiful cheeses. Mat, who hosts an annual wine tasting party decided to shake things up by making it an “Eat the World TO” special “Drink the World TO”. The theme of the party was wines from around the world – each continent and most geographical regions were represented.

Teams of two were paired off randomly in order to mix up the groups in attendance and to separate couples. As the prize for the winning team was an all-expenses-paid dinner with Yours Truly, the stakes were high. 

Below are the wines in no particular order:

Continent/Region – Country – Type of Wine – Name of Wine

• North America – Canada – Baco Noir – Henry of Pelham
• South America – Argentina – Bonarda – La Posta Armando
• Western Europe – Italy – Chianti – Peppoli
• Central Europe – Germany – Pinot Noir – Black Forest T/312 
• Eastern Europe/Eurasia – Georgia – Saperavi – United Stars Mukuzani Dry
• Middle East – Lebanon – Chateau Ksara Le Prieure 
• Asia – China – Cabernet Sauvignon – Chateau Changyu Moser XV Helan Mountain
• Africa – South Africa – Triptych (Cabernet Sauvignon Blend) – Cathedral Cellar
• Oceania – Australia – Shiraz – Angove

Drink the World TO wanted to expose its guests to new types of wines with the goal of having the wine of the night be from an unexpected region. The tasting ended in success, with the most enjoyed wine being from Georgia. Georgia may not strike you as a common winemaking region though it has a long history and one of the oldest winemaking traditions in the world. Their wines have a tendency to be sweet with sugar content between 30-40 grams per liter. Since most of the guests have a preference for wines on the drier-side, we sourced United Stars Mukuzani with the saperavi grape in which has a sugar content of only 3 grams per liter and is described as extra dry (Red Label). This is a steal, costing only $16 at the LCBO. 

We highly recommend rallying up a group of friends and organizing your own night of fun with a blind wine tasting. In order to keep on top of things and keep the identity of the wines a mystery, the bottles were arranged at random in a box and each was covered with a black sock. A game sheet was passed around to each team and Mat was pouring approximately 1oz of each wine per person. At the end of the tasting, Mat revealed one bottle at a time to the group and each team presented their thoughts on the wine. Each team shared their two favourite and least-favourite wines, which led to the Georgian wine being crowned the best of the evening. 

Drink with you soon,

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)