Wine Tasting: New York Vinters

I love Groupon.com, one day their deal was for around half off wine tasting and a pizza making class. They usually cost 50 dollars, but I got 2 tickets for 20 dollars each. They have other classes too such as sake tasting and sushi making (which was the one I originally wanted). The space was very nice, a small wine shop in the front and a dining and kitchen area in the back.

The tables were arranged beautifully, and the first wine we started off with was Prosecco. It was a light bubbly drink. They taught us to swish it around the glass 3 times then smell it so close that your nose is almost touching.

We then moved on to a Chardonnay and then to a Sauvignon Blanc. The Chardonnay was sweeter than the Sauvignon. I prefer red wine rather than white, but these were not bad to sip on.

We then moved on to a Rosé. I was not a huge fan of this one. I find Rosé wines to be too sweet. This one had a great fragrance, but the sweetness was off putting.

Now it was time to taste the reds. I was so excited! I love their vibrant colors and the kind of thin coating of tartness they put over your tongue after a sip. Buddy was "smelling" the Red Bordeaux.

I really enjoyed this one. We also tried a Pinot Noir which was also very pleasant.

This is Chef Meeker, the in house pizza expert. He taught us the step by step way of making the best pizza. He also said if we didn't want to deal with making our own pizza dough; you can always go to your local pizza place and ask to buy some dough from them, and they usually cost 2-3 dollars :)

After the demonstration we all got a chance to work with the dough while his pizza's were baking. They smelled SO GOOD. Here I was checking to make sure the dough was thin enough and that there were no breakage in the dough.

The Finished Pizza!

Taste: The sauce was so flavorful and yet it didn't over power the taste of the cheese. (It is the WORST when sauce tastes too sweet or has too much tomato paste in it) The cheese was mozzarella, we also made a mushroom pizza. The mushrooms were the marinated kind, but I preferred the old fashioned plain.

Texture: The dough was perfectly chewy and the underbelly nicely crunchy. The cheese varied from stringy to almost burnt and bubbly (I love that kind of textural variation in pizza)

Verdict: I really enjoyed my class here. It was 2 hours long and I learned so much about wine and pizza! The people working there really knew their wines and were very helpful and friendly with questions others had after the class was over. Their wines were also reasonably priced and and next time I'm in the area, I will definitely be stopping there for my alcoholic needs!

*I also just found out that there is a cupcake and wine pairing class! So if you are as crazy about wine and cupcakes as I am, you should check it out :)

New York Vinters

21 Warren Street

New York, NY 10007

212.812.3999

http://www.newyorkvintners.com/