Wine tasting, take 2

A week ago Saturday was the second, annual wine-tasting fundraiser for Haiti.
As I walked over to Glenda's house, I passed my neighbor Fred, who attempted to wolf whistle at me via his open window. "Nice guna." I laughed and thanked him. He said he would follow me over in a while.
"Do I need to bring anything?" he asked as I started to head off. I looked back at him.
"Money," I replied.
"That's what I like about you, you are so direct," he said. I shrugged thinking, it is a fundraiser.
The invitees, being Irish, were slow to arrive. It was a nice, small crowd, and everyone seemed comfortable with each other and mingled happily. Glenda the good witch bustled about, giving out orders indiscriminately.
As I had done the previous year, we had five wines to taste. This year, however, Glenda had decided that we were to start with a rose. Well, early arrivals started with a glass or two of Shiraz or a beer. The wine tasting officially started quite late with the rose. I introduced "my able assistant" Howard. He was in charge of the opening of wine bottles and the pouring of the wine. Given that the sofas and chairs were quite low, Howard said that he felt like he was towering over everybody. Even in my high-heeled sandals I was not towering over anybody. I was however giving it loads as I am wont to do in such circumstances.
Very little was said about the wines. I provided basic information about where we got the wine, the reasonable cost, and what the wines were called. Occasionally, I mentioned what the percentage of alcohol was. The emphasis was on the drinking--and people's selective likes and dislikes.
One gentleman was not a wine drinker and seemed a bit bemused about the wine cheat sheet. I explained that it was just an aid. "For example, is that a wine you would give to your mother-in-law?" I asked.
He replied, "She is dead, so no." OK, I thought, he is taking this very literally. Try again.
"Perhaps it is more of a date wine?"
He shook his head no. "I am married so I don't go on dates."
"What about swilling wine?"
Nope. "I don't like wine; I wouldn't drink a lot of it."
I gave up. "Can I get you a beer?"
All in all, it was a civilized evening and no one fell into the fireplace (unlike last year. I blame the whisky.) A few of us who have been trapped by Glenda's generous hospitality in the past snuck out one after the other whenever she was in the kitchen and was distracted by others.
The Haiti fundraising season has begun well.

Wine taster par excellence

Somehow I got roped into helping at a wine tasting fundraiser. It is for a good cause -- building houses in Haiti. However, I went from being a willing participant and advice giver to the person ordering the wine and directing the tasting on the evening. I have never led a tasting before.
Holly recommended that I use a wine wheel, a chart of sorts easily available on the web. I found a few all right, but they were far too detailed, technical, or formal for my liking. So Emile helped me design a wine tasting cheat sheet for pseudo-wine tastings. If nothing else, it might break the ice; we are expecting about 20-25 people. There will be a lot more drinking than talking definitely. "This wine is fairly drinkable, get it down your necks" will be the gist of my directions. The way a wine tasting among friends should be. Really, the do is more an excuse for a piss-up than anything -- with no guilty conscience since it is for charity. I would still like to avoid a hangover the next day though. I am too old for hangovers.