Putting wine in a bottle is the best way to help it age deliciously, whereas putting a message in a bottle is the best way to avoid exorbitant stamp prices. Empty your own glass envelopes with today’s Groupon: for $60, you get a private at-home wine tasting for up to six people from Decoding Wine (a $120 value), valid within 20 miles of zip code 45419.
Helmed by Ken Oswalt, a connoisseur of the vine with two decades of expertise, Decoding Wine imparts the basics of wine tasting to inquiring imbibers in the comfort of their own domiciles. After a preliminary wine-selection consultation with Oswalt, each host procures a sippable syllabus of bottles before gathering up to five friends for the at-home course. During the hour-long class, students will sip from provided goblets as they sharpen every sense to the nuances of each aromatic sip. Budding oenophiles will pick up clever tricks for bottle opening and wine storage, as well as how to properly pair wine with meals, desserts, and Lunchables.
Decoding Wine
Ken Oswalt awakened to his love of wine during a tour of Sonoma's rolling vineyards in 1990. An instant oenophile from that moment forward, Oswalt has spent the past few decades furthering his understanding of grapes' greatest gift to mankind. Now the principle expert behind Decoding Wine, he organizes in-home tastings in which he teaches clients to pair wines with foods and distinguish between different varietals. His courses help students apply all of their senses to the enjoyment of wine, from using the sense of smell to detect the oaky notes of a cabernet sauvignon to using the vestibular sense to stay upright after drinking a bottle of merlot.