How to Start a Wine Club

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By JasneJ
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Enjoy Wine, Meet New Friends, Support Local Businesses

As we watch the news and listen to the economic reports,some of us want to hide under the covers and never leave our homes. We took another approach and started a wine club. Our goals were to socialize, drink wines, and support local businesses and restaurants. Read this article for some creative suggestions for starting a wine club where you live.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Local businesses,local restaurants
Interested community
Chamber of Commerce
Wine
Creative thinking

Step 1

Local Vineyard

Begin by contacting local businesses in your town, local restaurants, travel agencies, and wine lovers to help support a wine club. Approach the local Chamber of Commerce to explain your plan for a wine club and gain their support. Any local business owners can benefit from the networking opportunity. For example, at one of your wine meetings a travel agent could promote an upcoming trip to Italian wine country. If you are fortunate enough to have local wineries nearby, encourage their participation. Plan a meeting in the spring or summer for a tour of their vineyards and winery and wine tasting.
Step 2

Locally Grown Pears with Dessert Wines

Plan the monthly meeting in a local restaurant or bar with space to accommodate a group of 15 or more folks for drinking, socializing, and discussing wine or beer. Allow the restaurant or bar time to put together a price for providing the food and wine to charge folks. Support your local restaurants. Many family run restaurants would welcome a crowd. In some states, wine sales representatives may be willing to donate wine and discuss it at your wine club event. If you are blessed with private wine stores, ask for their help.
Step 3

Seattle Times Food Critic, Author and Chef Greg Atkinson

For your first meeting, work hard to motivate people to come to the wine club meeting. Ask the local newspapers to cover the first meeting for some free press for the wine club. Post flyers at the local businesses in advance of the wine event. Find local food authors, well known chefs, and famous wine connoisseurs to feature at your first meeting. This is the ideal place for food and wine professionals to promote a new cookbook.
Step 4

Cuvee French Wines

Organize the wine tasting around a theme such as Italian wines, French wines, California white wines, or other regional wines. Generally three to four wines is plenty to sample and all most people will remember. Print out information to take home on the wines: wine name, variety, where you can buy it, local price , and Wine Spectator rating. Choose wines under twenty dollars to keep wines affordable for most people. Keep the wine lecture time to a minimum to allow people to socialize and network.
Step 5

Armando Batali and his famous Meats

Serve food at your wine tasting. Work with local chefs for food and wine suggestions. Create interesting pairings of wine with food for people to enjoy. Encourage local produce growers to participate with fresh fruit and vegetables. We have many local butchers with smoked meat specialties people enjoy as a snack .Local dairies with fresh cheeses can also be featured in the wine club meeting. Print out recipes using the regional wines for people to take home and try.
Step 6

A Wine Picnic for Summertime

By now I hope you appreciate the broader goals of starting the wine club. In tough economic times, supporting local businesses, and forming bonds in the local community makes us all stronger. Making new friends and sharing a glass of wine is the community we all want to support. Have fun.
Salud !