Offline-Organizer Veterans

WINE TALK
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1 - No big pours!

2 - Bring intact bottles.

22

Says the chucklehead who was the only guy to whip out his CC when we last saw him up here this past Election Night… strawman [smileyvault-ban.gif] [whistle.gif]


Oh yea, the resto where you offered up your CC for your share of the bill now won’t offer us corkage-free dining. Coincidence??!! [swearing.gif] [swearing.gif] [swearing.gif]

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This is a GREAT thread!!

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Thanks Charlie! [pwn.gif]

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we millennials don’t carry cash. [snort.gif]

26

Name tags! I know it sounds childish, but when I started going to offlines, I would take out a piece of paper, draw a picture of the table, and write everyone’s name around the table in order so I could learn them. People would make jokes about it, but by the end of the night, people were looking over my shoulder to figure out who was who. Now that I’m old and decrepit, I meet Berserkers all the time at tastings and I only wish they had name tags.

27

I always call in advance ask the manager what the corkage is and then try to negotiate. I try to get a deal per person instead of per btl because we average a little more than 1 btl per person. The last place did $15 per person instead of $20 per btl. If you do this make sure you tip well, as the waitstaff work hard for offlines, and deserve to be taken care of. Secondly always figure that however long a normal dinner takes an offline is at least double that. I usually try to block off at least 3 hours and sometimes more. Its amazing how fast time goes when you are drinking and socializing.

28

Vegas don’t take Bitcoin at the tables, foo. Neither do the gentlemans clubs. OLs should complete that triumvirate.

C.R.E.A.M.

29

A mix of advice for organizers and attendees:

Any questions about anything (“is my wine appropriate”), email the ORGANIZER directly. The organizer for an individual event has the final say.

Try to keep things LOW KEY and just ask that people are respectful of their fellow wine lovers. If they are not, don’t include them on the announcement email next time (assuming this is being done by email, not online). 2 strikes and you are out (everyone deserves at least one pass, they may just not realize the rules of good offline behavior).

Declare a clear THEME for an event, with a $ VALUE upfront, and stick to the theme (although be FLEXIBLE for someone to occasionally bring an interesting twist, like a Rhone to a Rhone Ranger dinner for comparison’s sake is fun). Don’t get bent out of shape if some wines are NEW WORLD style and you prefer OLD WORLD, if it fits within theme, all is fair game.

Don’t INSULT other people’s wines in a casual group. Even if it is corked, there are likely to be different opinions on the subject. If you don’t like it, don’t express an negative opinion, just say what you DO LIKE.

Dollar value should be PURCHASE PRICE or AVERAGE CURRENT RETAIL PRICE on Wine-Searcher, whichever is higher. If someone bought the wine years before at a much lower than current price, lucky for them!

Everyone brings at least ONE BOTTLE/PERSON (so two if you are bringing a guest), although often people will be generous and bring more than one. If someone is accompanied by a guest, give them a pass on bringing a bottle for the guest if the latter is a NON-DRINKER, or will only a little bit.

Some people get really stressed out over POUR SIZES. People should do small pours until everyone who wants some has had a taste, and then pass the bottle around again. 12 people/bottle is doable if people behave. In a big group, if you don’t get to taste everything, relax, it’s not a big deal, there is too much wine anyway. The person who brought the bottle should be give a chance to take the last or have a bigger pour.

The person who BROUGHT THE BOTTLE should be permitted to open and test it before passing it around. Don’t finish their bottle unless you’ve asked them if they want some more first.

Ask people to limit themselves to 1 GUEST, unless the event is undersubscribed. Permit guests, since they tend to diversify the group (sexual orientation, topics for discussion other than wine, etc.) and make for a more fun event (the most boring events in my mind are 12 guys who don’t talk about anything but wine!).

Try to bring wines that are reasonably comparable to others in COST/RARITY under the theme (see theme above). If you have to bring something obviously less expensive, bring extra wine to make up for it.

If someone brings a 1st Growth to a dinner that has a more casual theme, thank them for their GENEROSITY, but don’t feel like you have to match them if 1st Growths wasn’t the original theme.

And if you don’t have anything that fits the theme, either SOURCE something from a shop or from one of the other attendees, or talk to the organizer about what might be an appropriate substitution.

In Philly, we always allowed comparable quality STARTER or dessert wines. A good Champagne or Sauternes are always good additions, whatever the theme.

As far as BACKUP bottles, my personal opinion is they are not needed. We all get corked wines ~5% of the time, so if yours is corked this time, someone else’s will be corked next time. Particularly for high-end themes, I don’t think it is reasonable to expect people to contribute 2 very expensive bottles just because one turned out to be corked. Not everyone started buying years ago, or has a trust fund.

A key to offlines is being CONSIDERATE of the RESTAURANT. They are doing you a favor, particularly if it is a larger group (or byob not typical). Try to avoid having them provide/wash extra glasses, decant wines, pour wine, etc. The easier you make it on them, the more likely you will be welcomed back.

25% TIP minimum, 30% preferable (adjust based on how much work/how big a favor the restaurant is doing for you). And give them a taste. Kitchen staff are particularly impressed when you send some wine back to them at the end of a meal as a thank you.

If you have never attended an offline before, or are NEWBIE to a group, go higher end on what you bring, just to be safe until you learn the lay of the land. First impressions matter.

30

Oh yes as Kevin said, VERY VERY VERY VERY important to set the ground rule that if you bring a bottle for everyone you bring. Early on I was part of a group where the guy would only bring one bottle and would bring his wife and son. I don’t want to hear that BS about “well he/she doesn’t drink a lot”. Unless he/she DOESN’T DRINK AT ALL, bring a bottle.

31

Personally, I’d give them a pass if their guest really was only going to drink 1 glass of wine in the whole evening, but otherwise I agree (particularly if it isn’t a very high $$$ theme).

But it is a wine dinner, so unless you have a super-hot date (in which case, I want to sit next to her!), or your spouse won’t let you out of the house alone, what is the point of bringing non-wine lovers to a wine dinner (particularly if it is over-subscribed)? Some diversity is good, too much might not be.

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Maybe we should pin this thread to the top and retitle it “Advice for offline organizers”?

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Personally I don’t stress out about dollar value of bottles (everyone has a different income and different cellar) and my preference is to drink with people who feel the same way. So long as I like the people and they bring wine that they like with some consideration for other people’s enjoyment it can be a $20 bottle or a $200 bottle. There are lots of $20 bottles I’d prefer to lots of $200 bottles.

The thing that does drive me a little crazy (and I’ve been guilty of this) is the last minute cancellations, or much worse, the last minute no-shows. When you’re sitting at an 8 top waiting for the last 3 people to show and they never do that means you’re not going to be invited back. Last minute cancellations are much more understandable and less annoying but if you’ve agreed with the restaurant to have a minimum number and will be stuck with paying for empty seats then I’d collect money up front.

34

Look for restaurants that will appreciate your business and make it a goal that they’ll want you back. Maybe they have slow nights, or just have a large space, or outclass their location, or whatever.
Order lots of food.

Our Berserkers group cycles between a few places, usually on Mondays.
There was a bistro that two of my wine groups went to. Amazing chef and chef-owner, who were both seriously into wine. They were in the wrong town, so happily had us any time and treated us very well. They enjoyed having food knowledgeable wine geeks in.
Another was this large Peruvian place in an odd locale. They knew nothing of wine. We’d get this huge long table, take care of out own wines, and order tons of their excellent food.

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I agree with Jay Miller - late adds and scratches are really tough to manage in some (though not all) tastings. I can’t quite say never do it, since there are some things that urgent and unforseeable enough to warrant it, but I am very frustrated with people being glib and casual about not showing up, canceling last minute, showing up with unscheduled guests, etc.

36

My issue is when people consistently bring that +1 and make the argument they will only have 1 glass or 2 (who is actually counting to verify?) you should bring tow bottles. If it’s just a one off, maybe it’s ok.

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It would be a handy reference resource for offline organizers.

Thanks, everyone, for all the great advice, and for sharing your experiences!

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I was part of a group where the guy would only bring one bottle and would bring his wife and son.

Wife AND son?

What about the dog? Poor thing had to stay home?

Did they understand the point of the evening? That seems like a completely innocent misunderstanding - that would only happen one time.

39

Yeah. Best part is sometimes they’d come after dropping by bevmo to buy the bottle and it’d still be in the bevmo paper bag.

This was maybe a decade ago.

40

12 is about the maximum number if you want everyone to get a taste from every bottle.