Wine tasting puts guests in the right state of mind

I'm right-handed.

Since early childhood, many of my dearest friends have been left-handed. It's true. Even my closest cousin of 125 first cousins is left-handed.

(As for my right-handed friends, I love you, too!)

So it wasn't really a surprise to me that I was instantly attracted to Sarah Marquis and Sparky Marquis, two southpaws from Australia. Yet, they set themselves apart from the other left-handers I know when they extended their hands in friendship -- they used their left hand.

Shaking hands left-handed provided a good lesson for me in how awkward it must be for lefties to shake hands in a world dominated by us right-handed folks.

I met the Marquises at a wine maker's dinner hosted by Ray Kinney and Tom Falcone at Zaidi's restaurant, where they were the featured wine sellers.

Quite honestly, years ago I determined wine tastings were not the best use of my time - most were overflowing with more information than somebody drawn to inexpensive wines can absorb.

In fact, when we first moved to Naperville, we were invited to many in-home wine tastings, which at the time were a popular way to entertain.

Afterward, the sales representative with a wine company would call and ask for you to invite your friends and neighbors, promising your guests really didn't need to purchase any wines. As the host, you provided refreshments. One in-home wine tasting led to another. And so on.

Until recently, the most memorable wine tasting I recall was set up in my subdivision by a couple of neighboring wine connoisseurs who will remain nameless.

In a blind taste test, our neighbors selected a Blossom Hill label as the favorite among eight fine wines, much to the disappointment of our hosts.

As fine dining establishments opened in Naperville, I've observed that wine tastings have moved to restaurants, oftentimes as fundraisers for local charities. And I think that's a good thing.

At any rate, about a year ago, Kinney and Falcone attended a wine tasting event in Chicago where they discovered Mollydooker wines. "Mollydooker" is the Aussie way of saying left-handed.

Kinney promised this wine-tasting would be fun because the Marquises had been chosen by wine advocate and critic Robert Parker to be among the "top wine personalities" of the world. Plus, they were named the Australian winemakers of the year. The kudos go on.

And Kinney was correct.

Sparky got us off to a good start with a bubbling Shiraz called "Goosebumps" while offering some advice.

"If you can't describe a wine in one or two words, you're talking too much."

I heard many "Wows!" in response to "fruit weight" as some 70 folks sampled wines with creatively designed labels that described a merlot as "The Scooter," a Shiraz as "The Boxer," and a Shiraz/Cabernet/Merlot blend as "Two Left Feet."

The enterprising and seasoned wine makers met more than 20 years ago, created the Mollydooker label in March 2006, and now are providing many delectable wines designed for everyday drinking.

And what did a few others who attended have to say?

"What a fun event!" said Sharon Wehrli. "Loved learning to test the percentage of fruit on my tongue- And these labels ... they're so clever - creating labels on the bottle so you have to tilt it to the left to look at it."

"We've had some out of the ordinary fun while learning about some exquisite wines," said John Harvey.

"I like the screw caps," said Dan Casey.

FYI, screw caps are used on Mollydooker wines instead of corks because, on average, one bottle in 12 is affected by cork taint, according to Sparky.

"Another unique feature is the peel-off tab on every bottle to help you remember the name of the wine," added Wehrli.

At the end of the wine dinner, the Marquises presented Kinney and Falcone with magnum sets of the 2006 "Carnival of Love" Shiraz and "Enchanted Path" Shiraz/Cabernet to thank them for organizing the event.

"Look for these bottles at the next Little Friends Bids for Kids auction," said Falcone, as Sarah and Sparky signed the bottles above the labels.

"I'll likely give one of the autographed bottles to the next St. Patrick's Golf Outing auction," said Kinney. "Tom may give his to Little Friends, but Sister Jeanne just might have to accept one of mine empty."