The Wine Voyage

Table of Contents - What Is Spirits Tasting (and Why Does It Matter)? - The Essential Equipment for Spirits Tasting - The Four-Step Framework for Tasting Any Spirit - Spirits Tasting by Category - How to Build Your Palate Over Time - Spirits Tasting as a Group Experience - Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid - Starting Your Spirits Tasting Journey - Further Reading I remember the first time someone handed me a glass of single malt Scotch and said, "Just taste it." I had no idea what I was doing. I sipped, I nodded, I said "smoky" — and I was pretty proud of myself. Years later, running spirits tasting experiences for corporate teams, I realize how much richer that moment could have been with just a little guidance. Spirits tasting is one of the most accessible sensory skills you can develop — and one of the most enjoyable. Whether you're at a bar, a dinner party, or a team-building event, knowing how to engage with what's in your glass transforms a drink into ...

Table of Contents - Why Remote Team Building Is Different (and Harder) - What Actually Works: Principles First - The Best Team Building Formats for Remote Teams - Planning a Remote Team Building Event: Step-by-Step - Common Mistakes in Remote Team Building - Making Remote Work Feel Less Remote - Further Reading I planned corporate events for 15 years before remote work became the default for a huge swath of the workforce. And I'll be honest: when the world shifted in 2020, I watched a lot of well-intentioned team building for remote teams land completely flat. Trivia nights via Zoom. Virtual escape rooms with laggy video. Online cooking classes where someone couldn't get their ingredients delivered. These efforts were sincere, but they were often designed by copying in-person formats and hoping the medium didn't matter. It matters. A lot. The teams that figured out team building for remote teams first were the ones who stopped trying to replicate office experiences online a...

Table of Contents - Why Remote Team Building Is Different (and Harder) - What Actually Works: Principles First - The Best Team Building Formats for Remote Teams - Planning a Remote Team Building Event: Step-by-Step - Common Mistakes in Remote Team Building - Making Remote Work Feel Less Remote - Further Reading I planned corporate events for 15 years before remote work became the default for a huge swath of the workforce. And I'll be honest: when the world shifted in 2020, I watched a lot of well-intentioned team building for remote teams land completely flat. Trivia nights via Zoom. Virtual escape rooms with laggy video. Online cooking classes where someone couldn't get their ingredients delivered. These efforts were sincere, but they were often designed by copying in-person formats and hoping the medium didn't matter. It matters. A lot. The teams that figured out team building for remote teams first were the ones who stopped trying to replicate office experiences online a...

Table of Contents - Why Most Company Parties Fall Flat - Interactive Tasting Experiences - Creative Team Challenges - Seasonal and Themed Parties - Venue-Focused Ideas - Low-Lift, High-Impact Ideas - Comparing Company Party Formats - How to Choose the Right Company Party Idea - Bringing a Wine or Spirits Experience to Your Company Party - Further Reading Let me tell you something I learned after producing corporate events for fifteen years: the bar for company parties has quietly changed. What worked in 2018 — the DJ, the open bar, the catered dinner — is now the minimum expectation, not the highlight. People have been to those parties. They show up, make polite conversation with the same four colleagues they always talk to, and head home by nine. Nothing wrong happens. Nothing memorable happens either. The company parties that actually land are the ones that give people something to do together — a shared experience that creates its own conversation. That's the real trick. When yo...

Table of Contents - Why Most Company Parties Fall Flat - Interactive Tasting Experiences - Creative Team Challenges - Seasonal and Themed Parties - Venue-Focused Ideas - Low-Lift, High-Impact Ideas - Comparing Company Party Formats - How to Choose the Right Company Party Idea - Bringing a Wine or Spirits Experience to Your Company Party - Further Reading Let me tell you something I learned after producing corporate events for fifteen years: the bar for company parties has quietly changed. What worked in 2018 — the DJ, the open bar, the catered dinner — is now the minimum expectation, not the highlight. People have been to those parties. They show up, make polite conversation with the same four colleagues they always talk to, and head home by nine. Nothing wrong happens. Nothing memorable happens either. The company parties that actually land are the ones that give people something to do together — a shared experience that creates its own conversation. That's the real trick. When yo...

Table of Contents - Why Food and Wine Pairing Works (and When It Doesn't) - Planning Your Food and Wine Pairing Dinner Menu - Wine Selection for a Pairing Dinner - The Dinner Experience: How to Introduce Each Pairing - Hosting a Food and Wine Pairing Dinner for a Group - Turning a Pairing Dinner into a Team Experience - Common Questions About Food and Wine Pairing Dinners - Further Reading I've hosted food and wine pairing dinners in hotel ballrooms, in someone's backyard in Sonoma, in a downtown loft with forty corporate guests, and once — memorably — in a conference room where I had to improvise a tablecloth situation. The setting matters less than people think. What makes or breaks a food and wine pairing dinner is the logic that holds it together. When the pairing works, something clicks for guests that doesn't happen any other way. You take a sip of wine that tastes fine on its own. You take a bite of the dish. You go back to the wine. And suddenly it tastes differ...