A table by a grand ballroom entrance provided wine tasters with a souvenir Ingersoll Wine & Spirits wine glass for sampling.
Pamphlets with the table number of each distributor the beverages that each brought lay nearby. Individual tables lined the room walls as friendly-faced distributors showcased their tables.
People moved freely from table to table at the Ingersoll Wine & Spirits 22nd Anniversary Sale wine tasting event. Held at the Hotel Fort Des Moines on March 13, people saved 15% on any fifteen or more bottles of wine they purchased. Some made sure to taste every wine at each table while others only tasted their preferred wine.
Thirteen beverage distributors in the Iowa area came for the event. Wine tasters could sample any of the 100 plus different wines brought for the occasion.
"These 'under the table wines' have been chosen for the opportunity to taste extraordinary wines which may not normally be available for sampling at an ordinary wine tasting," Benjamin Jung, owner of Ingersoll Wine & Spirits said."
A few distributors also brought beer from local breweries in Iowa and Missouri.
"Part of my job is to sell wine to stores and restaurants around Iowa and the surrounding states, but I really enjoy coming to events like these," Michelle, Iowa Wine Wholesale employee said. "I always enjoy helping people find a wine they enjoy and explaining where the wine came from and how it's made."
Various hors d'oeuvres catered by the Hotel Fort Des Moines sat on a table in the middle of the room. Wine tasters nibbled on eggrolls, meatballs, bruschetta, grapes and cheese and crackers around the tall pub-like tables draped with white table cloths.
Everyone had their own reason for attending the wine tasting.
"My goal is to find a wine I like to serve at my upcoming wedding in July," Kim O'Brian of Des Moines said. "I thought it would be perfect to sample all these wines and with Ingersoll having a sale right now, I'll be able to save some money."
Self proclaimed wine connoisseur Jeff Lorenz said he tries to go to as many wine tastings as he can and likes to think of it as his hobby."
Ingersoll Wine & Spirits also offers weekly wine tastings every Friday from 4 to 7p.m. at their West Des Moines location and every Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. at their location on Ingersoll.
For more information visit ingersollwine.com
Follow Ingersoll Wine & Spirits tips for appreciating and examining wine.
Wine Appreciation Strategy
1)Begin with light whites; continue to heavier whites followed by light reds to heavy reds, and finish with dessert and sweet wines.
2)Do not hesitate to spit wine into the dump buckets or to discard wine from you glass that you do not like wish to finish.
3)Try to drink water and nibble on food provided to avoid effects of alcohol.
Examining Your Wine
1)Examine the wine for clarity, depth of color and brilliance.
-Are they appropriate for this wine?
2)Swirl the wine to awaken the aroma and perfumes in the glass
3)Smell the wine.
-Is it pleasing or are there off-aromas? -Is it varietally correct?4)Take a small amount in your mouth. Judge the weight of the wine.
-Is it like water, skim milk, 2%, whole, half-and-half, or heavy cream?Draw in a bit of air like a backwards whistle and swish the wine.
-Is it dry or sweet? Floral? -Are the flavors and the aroma matching appropriately? Fruity? Clean?
Then spit it out or swallow. -Is the finish pleasant or harsh? -Too hot? -Long or short?
5)Lastly and most importantly, did you like it?