Wow. I have to hand it to the folks at brixr.com. Online, real-time wine tasting, sample bottles of name-brand wines and a social community with which to share your tasting experience. This is, in the truest sense of the word, awesome.
Brixr offers 5-10 “Tiny Bottle” packages of various flights of wine. Brixr was nice enough to send me their Grenache tasting pack (my favorite varietal…). Because the original presentation took place in late March, I wasn’t able to take part in the live discussion, but the concept and the execution are phenomenal.
When taking part in the live tasting, you’re dropped into a chat room where you can discuss both the presentation and the wine in real-time.
A collection of 2 oz. bottles is sent in a neat little package. The Grenache package included three red wines, one rosé and four whites. I watched the winemakers talk about their wines and I thoroughly enjoyed tasting while learning.
While the Brixr team isn’t the first to offer online taste-alongs (Gary Vaynerchuk routinely offers several bottles for purchase to coincide with selected Wine Library TV episodes), they are the first to offer the convenient and cost-effective sample bottles. So you can try the wines you think you might like, and even if you end up not liking one or more samples, you’re not stuck with entire bottles of wine–for around the price of one 750mL bottle, you’re getting a set of eight (or more!) wines. If you like the wines, you’re able to order full-sized bottles of the same through Brixr’s website.
What’s great about the concept is you can create an event around it. A wine tasting party, or perhaps a date. Fun, interactive and playful. You and your companion can pair cheeses, meats or other goodies with your selection of wine samples. Click a link, swirl a glass and enjoy.
