Winery events abound on the East End, but not all wine events are created equal. They range from the very wine-focused — things like barrel or vertical tastings — to the not-at-all-wine-related. I’m looking at you, vineyard yoga.
Among all winery events, the wine dinner reigns supreme. Just about every winery in America hosts them at restaurants or right on their own property. It’s a simple equation: winery plus restaurant equals fun to be had. They are a great way for a wine producer to reach new audiences and build relationships with restaurants. Restaurants benefit, too, often selling these dinners out on nights that are typically slow and building those same relationships with the wineries.
I’ve been lucky to not only attend several wine dinners over the years, but also co-host and organize them. It’s a lot of work, which the customers don’t see. At least if you do it right.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of lame wine dinners that I see advertised.
There are myriad reasons that a wine dinner could be uninteresting, so I submit my do’s and don’ts for wine dinner awesomeness.