I was contacted a while back by Uncorked! Games asking if I would be willing to try out their new game called Read Between the Wines. According to Uncorked! Read Between the Wines is “a wine tasting board game that is geared towards bringing people closer together through wine and laughter!” Uncorked thought I would enjoy their game because “of [my] knowledge of wine and [my] love of fun! This game is really a perfect way to combine the two!” How could I say no; besides a wine game night with friends sounded like a wonderful idea. This spring has been filled with activities so it took some time to get our wine game night on the schedule but I finally found an open Friday night. We sent out an invitation to some of friends (game supports up to 8 players) to bring any wine they choose in a paper sack and a heavy hors d’oeuvre.

As our friends arrived we began our evening polishing off samples I had received over the course of the week. It was a busy wine week in my house and it is such a blessing to get to share delicious media samples with friends. We also filled our plates with the yummy spread of food everyone brought to eat. As you can see from the photos my friends really out did themselves! The game does not require wines to be tasted blind; however, since the game involved writing fun and creative wine descriptions I thought it would be best if we were not influenced by the label, vintage or winery.

Overall Read Between the Wines rules sounded pretty simple: sample a wine, pick a theme to inspire creative wine tasting notes, write your description of the wine based on each rounds theme, then guess who wrote which theme as they are read aloud. However, as we quickly realized the rules were a bit more complicated. We committed to playing four rounds before we began but as we moved into the second and third round the game became bogged down. First of all having to think hard during a drinking game turns some off immediately; second, because it was a creative group trying to guess who wrote which notes became difficult so each round lasted longer than desired and the actual drinking the wine part became few and far between. It is possible we misread or misplayed the game, but we read the directions many times and felt we played it accurately. Overall we did have a lot of laughter and fun (and we consumed a good amount of wine), just perhaps not the way the game designed intended. The game was very high quality, came with all items needed (accept wine and glasses) and even came with fun wine tags for glasses. It was possible our group was looking for a game that encouraged more wine sippin than creative thought because I read the one customer review on Amazon and their group seemed to really enjoy the game. So give it a try and decide for yourself! I welcome feedback of your experience with Read Between the Wines. Here is a link to purchase Read Between the Wines on Amazon.

Now here is a quick look at the wines we sampled for the game:

La Sirena 2013 Moscato Azul Napa Valley: This sweet, straw colored wine had a lively bouquet of floral notes, tropical fruits, lychee and citrus. It had a creamy texture with a full mouth feel, low acidity and a medium finish. It was crafted from Muscat Canelli. If you enjoy sweet wines this is a wine for you to try. SRP $30; click here to purchase.

Beso de Vino 2014 Garnacha Rosé: This wine was crafted from 100% Garnacha from the Cariñena DO in Spain. It poured a lively pink into the glass and opened with aromas of cherry, raspberry and a touch of mineral notes; additionally, it had the lovely watermelon Jolly Rancher aroma that I love in a rosé! On the palate it delivered a surprisingly pleasing acidity that allowed for great structure and a lingering, dry finish. This was a delicious rose that surprised the game players. *This was a media sample sent to me by D O Cariñena on behalf of Protocol Wine Studio.

Louis Jadot 2011 Pinot Noir: This Burgundian Pinot Noir poured a light ruby into the glass and opened with fresh aromas of bramble berries and violets. It was light in body yet offered nice concentrated fruit. This was not a complex Pinot Noir but was simple, elegant and enjoyable. It had a nice structure with well integrated tannins and clean acidity. This is a very popular wine and well distributed. Average retail price $20; click here to locate this wine or check your local wine merchants.

Spier Stellenbosch Signature 1692 Cabernet Sauvignon 2013: This South African wine was brought by our friends who visited the Spier winery on their trip last fall. It poured a deep inky violet into the glass and opened with a lively aroma of black fruit, cassis, leather, tobacco, a hint of smoke and dusty earth. On the palate it was full body with round acidity and surprisingly integrated tannins for such a young SA wine. It offered a long, dry finish that left the palate wanting another sip. Without seeing the label, myself and one of my guest thought it was a Meritage with some variety of Bordeaux grapes, most likely from California. We were all quite surprised when we pulled this 100% Cabernet Sauvignon out of the brown bag. This wine was delicious! It does not appear to be available for sale in the US so book your trip to South Africa and while you are there please pick up a bottle for me too!

Overall we had a great night. I would like to thank Uncorked! games for providing me a sample of their game Read Between the Wines. It offered a great opportunity for good friends to get together and enjoy laughter, good food and good wine; life does not get any better than that!

My Song Selection: We are all middle aged so our music selection for the night focused on 80’s rock. It was a fun back drop to our laughter and wine sippin. Therefore, I am chosing to pair our fun evening with Mötley Crüe’s Wild Side for two reasons: One, because we are all the correct age to have been in the audience of this Mötley Crüe video; Two, at my age this night was about as wild as my wild side gets anymore! Plus you are never too old for a little Crüe!

Create your own fun wine night with friends and let me know what song you would pair with it! Cheers!