birth support work, which was wonderful, but after I had my son, I was looking for something that had more flexibility; I wanted something that I could really enjoy doing and bring a lot of entertainment and joy to the people that I was doing it with. Ironically, the idea actually came to me when I was eight and half months pregnant with my son. I always had the desire to run my own business, and wanted to put my years of experience to use. It all just came together!
Casa London: If we came to you, and asked you to organize a party for us, what can you offer? What do you need from us?
Kristine: We would discuss some logistics: We ask that there to be between 12-20 people, we walk the host through the wineries that we represent, and a give a little sneak peek description of the wines. I am given a selection of wines for sampling from the wineries, and the host chooses which wines they would like for their party. Often I am asked to choose the wines, which can be great, because I can suggest our most popular selection. We also bring some palette cleansing food for the evening - it’s a simple process really, we set a date, choose the wine, and then enjoy our evening.
I’ve tried everything that I carry, so I know it is all really high quality. It is rare to go to a party and have someone completely hate a bottle of wine that I have brought for the tasting. Sometimes you will get people who aren’t red drinkers, but I suggest that perhaps their friend’s might appreciate some red wine instead of it all being white.
The service is different to having a party catered, or hiring a bartender. You are there to not only have fun, but to learn a little bit about the wine as well!
Kristine: The focus is on it being a tour of wine Ontario’s countries, sampling from the different regions and wineries. We do incorporate a Tasting 101 where we talk about the different steps to really experience your wine on a higher level, but no-one really does the traditional swish it round your mouth and spit it out.