june, 4th 2026
Everyone went home a winemaker
Have you ever blended your own wine?
Reading time : 5 min
A few weeks ago I had twelve Dutch friends in a villa. They’d been planning this Tuscany trip for months: a proper reunion, as they’d all known each other since college. They arrived with historical cars with that energy that old friends have when they finally get the band back together.
Loud, a little chaotic, ready for anything.
I ran them through my favorite tasting of the season: Winemaker for a Day. And I have to say: this group took it very seriously. Or at least they pretended to, which is honestly just as fun.
It starts with a little education. Three glasses, three very different grapes: Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot. We taste them slowly, one by one, and try to put into words what makes each one what it is.
The earthy pull of the Sangiovese. The way the Cabernet wants to take up space. What the Merlot gives you that the others don’t. By the end of this part, everyone thinks they know exactly what they’re doing.
That confidence is half the fun.
Then comes the real challenge. Each person gets a graduated cylinder and goes off on their own — no sharing strategies, no peeking — to build their personal Bolgheri-style Super Tuscan blend. You can try up to two versions before you commit. Some people are decisive. Others agonize. A few talked a big game during the tasting and then completely second-guessed themselves once they were holding the cylinder.
There was a lot of fun talk going around that table!!
Once everyone locked in their final blend, the glasses came in anonymous and I tasted them blind, talking through each one out loud, what I was picking up, what choices seemed to be behind it, how close it got to the style the person was after.
It’s one of my favorite moments in this whole format.
You can tell a lot about someone from the wine they build.
The blind jury voted, a winner was crowned, and he walked away with a bottle of Metodo Classico. Bubbles are always perfect to celebrate! His friends will probably never let him forget it!
Thank you for being part of these stories. Every Thursday I get to share a little piece of what I do, and the fact that you’re here reading means a lot to me.
I hope one day you’ll get to live one of these experiences firsthand: with your people, in a villa, with a cylinder in your hand and no idea what you’re doing. That’s usually when the best memories happen.
If you ever want to make it real, just write to me.
I’d love to be part of your story too!
From Tuscany, with gratitude and a raised glass,
Claudia 🍷
Ready to toast?
