Shakers Premiers its Women's Only Wine Tasting Event

 Introduction:

You all know that bourbon and whiskey are my passion, but I do like wine, especially with good food. I have seen wine nights and wine events from afar, gazing across the room while smoking a cigar and sipping whiskey. In fact, I had never taken part in a wine tasting ever, anywhere, let alone a cigar bar. So this past Wednesday evening I thought I would attend the Shakers first "Women's Only Wine Tasting Session." The owner Bob also gave me a nudge.  Twice. I made recent stops at Shakers to eat their delicious Cajun Mac N Cheese, drink a Ghost Ale, and enjoy a whiskey and cigar for dessert. Both times he handed me the flyer. I finally had Joe sign me up and made it in before it would eventually sell out.

Reception and Proseco:

I arrived and checked in. The staff provided me with a raffle ticket and seated me at an empty table. (I forgot to pay attention but there were maybe 4 tables, each with seating for seven??) The information on the flyer did not mention cigars, so I was not expecting any to be provided like Shaker's does at other events. However, I was hoping that I would be able to buy a stick and smoke one anyway, but when they seated me, there were no ashtrays on the tables. But the seating was beautiful! The tables where donned with winter-white linen and glistening wine glasses. None of the ladies already seated, nor those who came in after me, were smoking. Oh well. Psychologists call it normative social influence - conforming in order to fit in and maintain social approval. I did not smoke during this event. That is not to say I didn't have a wonderful time!  Soon my table filled up with other ladies. There was a rep there from Trinchero Wine & Spirits, and they started everyone off with a glass of sweet and crisp Avissi Proseco. It was refreshing and sweet, and I quickly forgot that I was not going to be lighting up for a while.

A lovely white linen event

First course:

Three lovely servers with wide smiles waited on us. They poured us each a glass of Bieler Pere & Fils Rose. This paired really well with the salad they brought out: three robust and spicy shrimp, with small slices of jalapeno over field greens. Yum! After a sip of the rose, each bite of that salad hit your mouth with the same kick! I love spicy food so this was excellent and I was happy. It was a tasty start to a delicious night.

Second course:

The servers next brought out Cerreto Blange, another crisp and fizzy white, which the rep explained cleared the palette. This removed the fireworks in my mouth from that first spicy course, and prepared me for the main entree. This was chicken breast with a red bell pepper stuffed with a goat cheese blended with seasonings, all with a side of shredded carrots. It was all delicious, but I really liked the stuffed pepper! Meanwhile seated at my table were the rep and her sister and her cousin, and two ladies who were kindred spirits of mine in that they both came from the south side of Milwaukee, as did I. The conversation moved beyond the initial introductions and was now prolilfic, warm and genuine. I was at a great table. We talked about spouses and a little bit about wine geography. This was lucky for me because I am a bourbon girl so I don't know much about wine, but I did teach high school geography for eight years so I was able to chime in as a contextual resource to the winery locations!

I bought a tasty trio of wines.

Third course:

Trinchero Ersol Pinot Noir preceded dessert. It was my favorite wine of the night. I imagine it stands alone really well as an after-work drink for a lot of women, but it was an excellent partner to Shakers amazing dessert. The servers had to navigate carefully, as they gracefully delivered the sweet treats lying within a hollowed-out half pineapple on its side, crown and all. The visual presentation was capitivating as the servers set this down before us without swatting anyone with those tall crowns protruding over the sides of the dishes! Inside the pineapple was ice cream, fruit, and some kind of cheese and/or gravy. All of that with the pinot noir made for a satisfying conclusion to the meal. And again the company was great, as the conversation now branched off from wine and geography to children and pets.

Adorable ghost candle I took home as a gift!

Aftermath: wines for sale & the raffle

I bought one bottle each of the rose, blange, and pinot noir - each was discounted as part of the event. They also raffled off a few bottles of wine and a few Shakers Ghost Tours. I didn't win any raffle prizes, but the night was a winner. There was also a few gifts for the guests, too, including a Shaker's teeshirt and a ghost candle. (From what I heard one of the servers makes those candles herself, from beeswax. I didn't get all the information about it, but I intend to follow up in a future blog post!)

I did meander over to the bar after the wine session ended and sat by Joe, who is a friendly, informative, and consistent presence at Shakers. I don't know how to label his status there, but he has status. He socializes and smokes good cigars, but he also sells them behind the humidor, and he is the one who actually signed me up for the wine tasting event a couple weeks earlier. I smoked two great cigars and chatted with him before I went home, but I will have to catch you guys up and review those later. This post was about the wine provided by the Trinchero Family and about the delicious food provided by Shaker's! When I started this blog I never imagined I would be reviewing food and wine! Thank you, Shaker's!

I promise next time I will review the cigars