The Art of the Wine Event

 

I love running wine events – dinners, walk-arounds, tastings, you name it.  They are very stressful, but I get an adrenaline high from them.  I have done everything from a 2-person wine dinner (awkward) to a bar-type wine tasting for 150 people.  I would love to tackle a larger tasting, such as one for the trade or a customer grand tasting.  This is strange coming from the woman who didn’t want to plan her own wedding.  I wanted to elope.  It would have been easier!

Even when I planned my mother’s 70 birthday 4 years ago, it was exciting.  Things went wrong – the decorations didn’t arrive in time and I had to scour every party store in 10 miles for luau decorations in the middle of winter.  The DJ I hired stepped out of the room during the big “surprise”, so that people weren’t aware she was walking in and then my star act got stuck in traffic and people didn’t want to stick around and stay.  It’s ok though.  Mom had Elvis all to herself and he serenaded her all night long.

With wine tastings/dinners you have to cost out the wine and the food to come up with ticket prices, advertise, get out on social media, get your guerilla marketing on, send e-mails, post flyers, send press releases,  get entertainment or a speaker, possible charity coordination, buy the food, get the wines in the fridge, make tasting sheets, etc, etc.

The most stressful and frustrating thing that happens is when people wait until the last minute to sign-up.  I’ve run $100 per person classes that sell out weeks in advance, I’ve had dinners I have had to cancel 24 hours before because I didn’t get many people to sign-up and then 2 hours later, 24 people want to sign-up and I’ve had tastings where 30 people walk in the door and pay extra without batting an eye.  I hear this from people who send out invitations to their weddings – people either wait or don’t respond at all.  This is just a wine tasting/dinner so, whatever.  I guess it's the sign of the times.

I was doing a class once for about 40 people at $60 per person.  I was the speaker and ill prepared, but I bumbled through it.  I had one guy who came in, sat down, proceeded to drink every wine at his seat, eat all the food on the table and once I started speaking, got up, created a ruckus and left.  I’m not very good when I get interrupted except when Chef Jamie Oliver interrupted me once, but that’s another story.

When the event happens, people usually, except for the guy I just mentioned, have a great time.  The more they drink, the more they buy and the happier everyone is.  But, on the day of the event, I get wedding day jitters.  I get nervous.  It’s just the last minute preparations that get me going crazy, barking out orders to everyone so that when the event finally starts, it’s like Mr. Rourke in Fantasy Island.  “Smiles everyone!  Smiles!”  And then…it’s all over and you clean up and hopefully like that one time, there is no puke to clean up and everyone gets home safely.  Yeah, I love running wine events.  Can’t wait for the next one!

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