Serious Clubs
Joining a wine tasting club in Toronto is a great way to sample some excellent wines that you couldn’t afford yourself and enhance your knowledge and expertise at the same time. The annual membership cost typically ranges from $30 to $50 and in some cases, there is also an initiation fee. Some clubs such as Australia and South Africa focus on the wines from a particular country. Others such as Toronto Vintners and Winetasters of Toronto are general purpose.
Each club offers a number of tastings per year, typically between seven and ten, and often has other social events such as multi course dinners at which a variety of wines are served. The usual format for a wine tasting is a sit-down event at tables of eight to ten people. Generally, there will be a particular theme. It could be a grape variety, it could be a country or region, or it could be a vertical tasting – wines from different years from the same producer.
Usually, proceedings start with a guest speaker who provides a brief introduction and then leads a post tasting discussion. Typically, eight wines are served, and you will be told beforehand which wines you are drinking but not which is which. Some clubs like to determine the relative popularity of the wines tasted via the collection and summarizing of each person’s individual rankings. Other clubs get feedback in a more informal fashion via a show of hands. See below for wine tasting clubs currently operating in Toronto:
Social Club
Wine tasting clubs have a formal sit-down which some may find a tad intimidating. So if you enjoy tasting a variety of wines but in a more informal environment, a wine social club may be a better option. One option is Meetup – an online social networking portal that facilitates offline group meetings in cities around the world. It allows members to find and join groups unified by a common interest. It was designed as a way for organizers to manage the many functions associated with group meetings, and for individuals to find groups that fit their interests. Users enter their city or their postal code and tag the topic they want to meet about. The service is free of charge to individuals who log in as members. See Wine Tasting Groups in Toronto for a current list.
Wine Tasting Alternatives
Another way of sampling excellent wines where you couldn’t afford to buy the whole bottle is to attend a wine show The price may be all inclusive or there might be a lower entry fee coupled with a price per glass. Tutored tastings are an additional option.