The Wine Voyage

Table of Contents - Why Bakersfield Works Better Than People Expect - What a Tasting Competition Actually Looks Like - Bakersfield vs. Standard Team Building Options - Planning a Bakersfield Team Building Event - Where to Host in and Around Bakersfield - Common Questions - Bringing a Tasting Competition to Your Bakersfield Team - Further Reading I've said this before about other Central Valley cities and I'll say it again here: Bakersfield gets written off as a wine market way too fast. When HR teams start searching for team building activities Bakersfield companies will actually enjoy, the results skew heavily toward the same generic lineup — escape rooms, trivia nights, maybe a cooking class if you're lucky. Nobody's pointing them toward the fact that Kern County sits inside one of the largest wine-grape-growing regions in the country, with warm-climate reds coming out of the ground practically down the street from downtown offices. That local identity is exactly the ...

Table of Contents - Why Bakersfield Works Better Than People Expect - What a Tasting Competition Actually Looks Like - Bakersfield vs. Standard Team Building Options - Planning a Bakersfield Team Building Event - Where to Host in and Around Bakersfield - Common Questions - Bringing a Tasting Competition to Your Bakersfield Team - Further Reading I've said this before about other Central Valley cities and I'll say it again here: Bakersfield gets written off as a wine market way too fast. When HR teams start searching for team building activities Bakersfield companies will actually enjoy, the results skew heavily toward the same generic lineup — escape rooms, trivia nights, maybe a cooking class if you're lucky. Nobody's pointing them toward the fact that Kern County sits inside one of the largest wine-grape-growing regions in the country, with warm-climate reds coming out of the ground practically down the street from downtown offices. That local identity is exactly the ...

Table of Contents - What Is Ouzo, Exactly? - The Louche Effect: Why Ouzo Turns Cloudy - How Ouzo Is Traditionally Served - Ouzo vs. Absinthe vs. Pastis - How to Taste Ouzo with Intent - Running an Ouzo Tasting for a Group - Bringing an Ouzo Tasting to Your Team - Further Reading I get the same reaction every time I pour ouzo for a group that's never had it: someone adds water, watches the clear liquid turn cloudy white, and asks if something's gone wrong. Nothing has — that milky transformation, called the louche, is exactly what ouzo is supposed to do, and it's one of the most reliable "whoa" moments I get out of any spirit I pour for a corporate tasting. Ouzo is Greece's national spirit, built around anise, and it's spent decades being lumped in with absinthe and pastis in most people's minds despite having its own distinct history, production method, and drinking culture. This guide covers what ouzo actually is, how it's made, why it turns cloud...

Table of Contents - What Is Ouzo, Exactly? - The Louche Effect: Why Ouzo Turns Cloudy - How Ouzo Is Traditionally Served - Ouzo vs. Absinthe vs. Pastis - How to Taste Ouzo with Intent - Running an Ouzo Tasting for a Group - Bringing an Ouzo Tasting to Your Team - Further Reading I get the same reaction every time I pour ouzo for a group that's never had it: someone adds water, watches the clear liquid turn cloudy white, and asks if something's gone wrong. Nothing has — that milky transformation, called the louche, is exactly what ouzo is supposed to do, and it's one of the most reliable "whoa" moments I get out of any spirit I pour for a corporate tasting. Ouzo is Greece's national spirit, built around anise, and it's spent decades being lumped in with absinthe and pastis in most people's minds despite having its own distinct history, production method, and drinking culture. This guide covers what ouzo actually is, how it's made, why it turns cloud...

Table of Contents - What Is Pastis, Exactly? - The Louche Effect and How to Serve It - Pastis vs. Ouzo vs. Absinthe - Cocktails and Modern Uses - Food Pairings - Why Pastis Works for a Group Tasting - Common Questions - Building Pastis Into a Corporate Tasting - Planning a Pastis Tasting for Your Team - Further Reading I've poured a lot of anise spirits for corporate groups over the years, and pastis is the one that consistently gets the most confused reaction. People know absinthe by reputation and ouzo from vacation, but pastis — despite being the actual best-selling spirit in France, outselling whiskey and cognac in its home market — barely registers outside wine and spirits circles here. That's a shame, because it's one of the easiest anise spirits to build a group tasting around: lower proof than absinthe, more approachable than straight ouzo, and it comes with a built-in ritual — the slow pour of water that turns it cloudy — that gives a group something to watch and t...

Table of Contents - What Is Pastis, Exactly? - The Louche Effect and How to Serve It - Pastis vs. Ouzo vs. Absinthe - Cocktails and Modern Uses - Food Pairings - Why Pastis Works for a Group Tasting - Common Questions - Building Pastis Into a Corporate Tasting - Planning a Pastis Tasting for Your Team - Further Reading I've poured a lot of anise spirits for corporate groups over the years, and pastis is the one that consistently gets the most confused reaction. People know absinthe by reputation and ouzo from vacation, but pastis — despite being the actual best-selling spirit in France, outselling whiskey and cognac in its home market — barely registers outside wine and spirits circles here. That's a shame, because it's one of the easiest anise spirits to build a group tasting around: lower proof than absinthe, more approachable than straight ouzo, and it comes with a built-in ritual — the slow pour of water that turns it cloudy — that gives a group something to watch and t...

Table of Contents - What Is Sambuca, Exactly? - Con la Mosca and the Flaming Ritual - Sambuca vs. Pastis vs. Ouzo vs. Absinthe - Cocktails and Modern Uses - Running a Sambuca Tasting for a Group - Bringing a Sambuca Tasting to Your Team - Further Reading I've written up pastis, ouzo, and absinthe over the past few weeks, and every time, someone in the comments or at an actual tasting asks the same question: "what about sambuca?" It's a fair ask. Sambuca is probably the anise spirit most Americans have actually had — usually as a shot with three coffee beans floating in it at the end of an Italian dinner — but almost nobody could tell you what makes it different from ouzo or pastis beyond "it's the sweet one." That gap between familiarity and actual understanding is exactly the kind of thing that makes for a great group tasting, so here's the real rundown on sambuca: what it is, where it comes from, why it gets set on fire in bars, and how it stacks u...