S.W.I.L.L.: the budding oenophile’s party in a box

by Amy Reiley, creator of Eat Something Sexy, www.eatsomethingsexy.com

Have you ever felt the desire to start a wine tasting club? Wanted to open several bottles of the same style of wine at once to see if the pricier wines really are better? Did the who thing seem a little daunting? Then you’ll like the S.W.I.L.L. Wine Tasting and Club Starter Kit.

Despite its unappetizing name, S.W.I.L.L. puts together all the supplies you need to invite your friends over and play oenophile. Many of the kit’s elements are fairly obvious – come on, we really need someone to supply us with pens?! But invaluable is the handbook that lays the whole process out for you in what is sometimes a little too detailed but amusingly conversational style.  Also handy are the tasting sheets to distribute to your guests. The sheets offer guidance for evaluating wines to those who have never tried the rather odd practice of swirling, sniffing, sipping and then note taking. Each sheet is divided into four categories for “eyes,” “nose,” “mouth,” and “comments.” (Have no idea what these mean? Don’t worry, each tasting sheet offers definitions and rating guidance on the back).

I do have one bone to pick with the guide that it instructs you not to do the tasting in bed, because it is “too bouncy.” From experience, I can promise you that all wine tastes better in bed!

The kit is designed for a gathering of eight guests to taste 5 wines blind, (which means the bottles are placed in bags to mask their identity. The idea is that tasters will be more impartial in their ratings if they do not know the origin and price of a wine). The host gets to pick the theme of the evening. Choose anything that strikes your fancy, be it blends of Bordeaux, Pinot Grigios at different price points or something more obscure like Marsanne, (a white grape most commonly found in France’s Rhone region).

For $29.95, S.W.I.L.L. includes 8 invitations, tasting note sheets, pens, 5 brown paper bottle bags, ribbons and tags for the bags, a corkscrew and the aforementioned guide. Although you can print more invitations, notes, etc on the company’s website, the kit really only provides enough materials for one tasting party. The guide is useful for reuse but the rest of the kit is a one-shot deal. The company is trying to improve the longevity of their product by offering reorders of individual kit items for sale, but the cost of reordering will really add up. $30 for an evening’s entertainment isn’t bad, but if your goal is to start a tasting club, S.W.I.L.L. won’t get you very far.