How to host your own wine tasting evening


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“Five obstetricians, one hospital doctor and an anaesthetist all walk into my kitchen. This isn’t the start of a joke or a particularly messy scene in a medical drama. It’s the beginning of an evening of wine tasting that involves one round of cocktails, a bottle of champagne, a preview of a soon-to-be-launched can of rosé (a triumph, judging by the response) and six bottles of wine.” Victoria Moore shares her secrets and had this to say about our new rosé-to-go…

We started the proper tasting with a pair of rosés. Wine in a can is set to be everywhere this summer and I wanted to preview the new Atelier Mirabeau Pret-a-Porter (£3.49 for a 250ml canette, launching in Waitrose on May 20). It’s a pale rosé, from the south of France, that tastes clean and pretty and says hello, summer as soon as you sniff it. “I’m placing an order for these the moment they hit Waitrose,” was one response, “Can’t wait to have them in my fridge.” Mirabeau is owned by Stephen and Jeany Cronk, a British couple who had a YouTube hit with “How to Open a Bottle of Wine With Your Shoe.” I meant to play the video but we talked too much.