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Home > Blogs > Uncorked > Archives > 2005 > November > 13 > Entry
Arrow Wine Hits a Bull’s Eye
So, what did folks think of the Arrow Wine & Spirits Holiday Tasting that was held Sunday night(11-13-05)?
I’ll go first.
Food was plentiful and tasty. Wines were of high quality. And the logistics worked smoothly. All in all, Arrow hit the target.
Since this event takes place 10 days after Dorothy Lane Market’s Holiday tasting, it’s hard not to compare the two. DLM’s holiday show draws larger crowds and is clearly …
…more ambitious, both in the first-rate food preparations and the numbers of wines represented. It also costs twice as much ($60 compared to Arrow’s $30).
But the folks at Arrow ramped it up a bit this year. The food was a cut above previous holiday tastings and included whole poached salmon. And the wines poured mostly by area distributors seemed a bit stronger across the board as well.
Favorites ranged from a tasty, deeply purple-colored Tamari Malbec from Argentina ($11.99) to the consistent line of New Mexican sparklers from Gruet ($15.99) to a smooth, complex 2003 Clio from Spain ($41.99) to a surprising and crowd-pleasing sparkling red (of all things) from Australia, the Black Chook Sparkling Shiraz ($19.99). And the $85 Penfolds Bin 707 Cabernet and the $103 Stag’s Leak SLV Cab were no slouches, either.
No one ran out of the most popular wines, and the food was replenished throughout the evening. The food stations were spread out and duplicated at multiple stations, so there was no waiting for sustenance. Short lines of no more than a half-dozen or so people formed at wine-pouring stations. And most — most — folks got their pour and immediately stepped aside to let the line continue moving.
If someone held hot coals to my toes to come up with something to whine about, the wine selection seems a tad skewed toward sparkling wines at the expense of whites and dessert-style wines, but I guess distributors view the holidays as THE time of year to sell the bubbly.
Let’s face it, we wine enthusiasts in the Dayton area are darn lucky to have events such as the Arrow and DLM holiday tastings. In larger cities, they’d cost more and be even more of a headache to get into and away from. And smaller cities have nothing like this.
Now, what do YOU think?
Cheers!
Mark Fisher
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Comments
By DMS
November 17, 2005 11:28 AM | Link to this
It was a great evening, as usual. We haven’t missed one yet. Yes, it seemed a bit heavy on the bubbly, but it is that time of year. My favorites were the Clio,the Norman Reserve Shiraz(ended up with 6 of these at evenings end), anf the Barolo. There were many very good wines. Excellent job by Arrow!!
By Bill Hagan
November 16, 2005 3:49 PM | Link to this
“A good time was had by all!” Denny and family, and Chris, Charlie and crew were super hosts. They handled the limited attendance well. Short lines, and super wine and food selections. “First class” all the way around. Thanks, Arrow.
By Uncorked
November 15, 2005 5:11 PM | Link to this
One thing I forgot to mention: Every attendee of this event also received a $10 Arrow gift certificate. I was expecting it to be good for the night of the holiday tasting only, but that’s not the case: It’s good until Dec. 31, 2005. That effectively brought the cost of this event down to $20. Mark Fisher
By John C.
November 15, 2005 7:35 AM | Link to this
I agree it was a great evening. The food was particularly impressive given the price. The selection of champagnes was also excellent.