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Every Friday evening, Whole Foods Market is the place to be, thanks to its inexpensive wine tastings. For only $5, you get a wine glass to keep, five wine tastings with food pairings, and dessert and coffee at the end. Plus, you can find your new favorite wine while wearing flip-flops and enjoying a fun, relaxed atmosphere.
Starting at 5 p.m. there is a table just inside the store where you pay and receive a wine glass (bring it back to the next tasting for $1 off!) and a punch card detailing that week's wines and food pairings. At each station, the card is punched showing that you've tried that wine and the pourer explains what you're drinking.
"We have a weekly meeting before we start the event to hand out talking-points on all the wines and let pourers and servers taste the wines," says specialty team leader Joe Berry.
There are always a mix of whites and reds and sometimes even themes that connect all the wines and foods. Berry says an average of almost 200 people show up for the wine tastings with the record set at 289.
On the Friday night I went, the place was hopping, although it was still a leisurely affair. Everyone was having a good time sipping wines and taking however long or short a time they wanted in between stations. My date and I particularly liked the braised short rib zucchini cup with ratatouille and Parmesan tulle that paired with the Giacomo Mori chianti and the fromage a trois that paired with a delightful Paringo sparkling shiraz. (The sparkling wine was a very distinct and different taste that I quite enjoyed.)
We also tried a too-sweet Riesling and a salty Sauvignon Blanc as well as a decent A to Z pinot gris. After our final wine, we headed toward the front of the store, where dessert samples and coffee were waiting.
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