Wine becomes the protagonist in the game of love and seduction where the singles meet, find and get to know the potential partners through various wine games played in a congenial atmosphere at pre-announced events.
The concept of wine dating was first evolved by the Paris based young sommelier, Olivier Magny who has become globally popular in a very short time. He organizes classy evenings for singles in Paris as blind wine dates with aperitifs organized on the top floor of the Tour Montparnasse or on a boat along the Seine River.
Founder of O Chateau, the group that organizes these events, he says, “Wine helps with meeting people; it makes people more spontaneous, takes away inhibition. And even more, the location is romantic”.
The events attract around 70-80 people every first Monday of the month. It costs € 35 for a seat at a table of eight, equally divided between men and women. Olivier entertains his guests while explaining the characteristics of each wine that is served. To help with socializing, a wine game is also played. There is a list of questions on the world of wine. Each guest giving the right answer is awarded two glasses of Champagne, one of which is to be offered to a person of his choice.
In London, the procedure is varied a little. Once everyone has arrived, the host begins a brief introduction, some hints and tips plus a description of the six wines that are offered for tasting to a group of 6 people-3 guys and 3 girls. Once everyone is seated in their first group, the wine tasting begins. There are around 12 minutes assigned to taste the first wine, chat and get to know the co-tasters. When the first tasting session ends, guys move on to the next table and collect wines for their next tasting group.
This process enables each person to taste 6 wines and meet 18 persons of the opposite sex. The online matching system of the wine dating service is available to connect with the participants after the event.
The latest to offer wine dating is Italy where Riccardo and Carlotta Pasqua, the third generation co-owners of the Verona-based family winery Pasqua, that produces full range of Soave, Valpolicella, Amarone and other wines from the region are promoting the concept.
"Earlier this month, we presented the first Italian 'wine dating' event in Milan, a new, informal, fun, wine game dedicated to young people - a kind of new way of tasting wines while exploring the five senses”, says Carlotta who looks after the PR and management of various wine events. The wine dating has also been introduced by them in Porto Cervo, Sardinia.
Wine dating is an interesting social concept that can motivate singles to learn about wine and encourage them to drink wine than high alcohol beverages. They can also hope to meet like minded people of the opposite sex with at least one common interest-wine. It is only a matter of time before some pro-active restaurants in India, especially in Mumbai and Delhi will hopefully take the concept forward. |