[April 24, 2025] A Toast to Our Inaugural Wine Scholars Event

April 24, 2025

First off, what a scholarly event! Our spouses are surely so proud of us—and rightfully so—because we’re truly committed to bettering ourselves, one glass of wine at a time. And to quote Ryan, “this was more fun than I thought it would be.” And it really was! The participation, the energy, and the engagement were all fantastic—thank you to everyone who joined and made it such a great evening.



Special Thanks

A big thank you goes to Ben Zoller for hosting this first-ever gathering and for the surprise wine at the end—what an absolute treat! Also, thanks for providing the stemware, Ben. It made the night flow smoothly (and look a lot more professional than solo cups ever could).


What’s Next for Wine Scholars?

The goal was and will be simple: keep this fun, approachable, and enjoyable for all levels of wine drinkers. I’ll count on you to call me out if we’re getting too nerdy or overwhelming—though I have a feeling we’ll strike just the right balance between learning and laughing.

Meeting #1 Recap:

Red Wines: Old World vs. New World
We tasted three varietals, comparing one Old World wine and one New World wine for each:

  • Cabernet Sauvignon

  • Merlot

  • Pinot Noir

The challenge? Match up the tasting notes I provided with the corresponding wines we taste. Six wines. Six tasting notes. Did anyone guess them all correctly? Nope! But it sure was fun to try.



Optional Homework (For the Overachievers)

If you want to dig deeper, I recommend reading the first 50 pages of Message in the Bottle. It’s where I’ve pulled all our tasting notes, and it’s a great resource for learning the deductive tasting method and blind tasting tips.


I can’t wait for the next event, and I’m so grateful for the support, feedback, and enthusiasm from all of you. This was a great event!

Cheers,
Alex, Founder of Wine Scholars


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