I created a wine trivia game a few years ago for a wine tasting party I was attending, and have decided to post it here for anyone who wants to use it.
The game was created in Microsoft PowerPoint and was modeled off of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire...except my version was called Who Wants To Be A Sommelier.
There are about 70 researched questions which are all wine related and the graphics were pilfered straight from the original show.
It's a fun group game that you can either play just for fun or you can make into a competition.
To download a .zip file which includes the PowerPoint slides, sound files and a basic set of instructions you can click here:
Download Who Wants To Be A Sommelier
keywords: wine trivia, wine party games, wine tasting games, sommelier, wine PowerPoint, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire PowerPoint
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Martinis Are Good Year Round
Even though it's the dead of winter, the cold weather doesn't dampen my enthusiasm or desire for a good martini...so let's look at how to make a martini that will be even better than your local barkeeper can make.
While today it is very trendy to create all sorts of specialty drinks, serve them up in a martini glass and give them evocative names like the Chocotini, Appletini or Berrytini, these drinks are not true martinis.
It boils down to only three basic things:
--- Quality of the ingredients
--- Temperature
--- Garnish
A classic martini has only two, or at most three, ingredients: the base liquor (either gin or vodka), dry vermouth and possibly olive brine if it’s a dirty martini. In selecting the bottle of gin or vodka, you need to remember that you will essentially be drinking it straight up, without anything to substantially alter its taste. Therefore, a premium or top shelf quality liquor is required. This doesn’t mean you need to buy the priciest brands at the store. Market price takes into account perception of quality, so only you as a consumer can determine what makes your mouth happy.
You really can’t go wrong with Skyy, Stolichnaya, Absolut or the higher priced Ketel One and Grey Goose for vodka or Beefeater, Tanqueray or the super-premium Bombay Sapphire and Mercury London Dry for gin drinkers. For the dry vermouth, there typically is not a tremendous amount of selection, but don’t purchase a cheap off-brand. Stick with Martini & Rossi or Cinzano or other comparably priced brands.
So now, we’ve got our selected tasty ingredients on hand. One of the biggest problems I find when ordering a martini in a bar is that it is served too warm. For a martini to be crisp, clean, knock-your-socks-off great, it has to be very cold.
To easily do this, start off by putting the martini glasses in a freezer, or if one isn’t available, then fill them with ice and a little water and set aside.
I always like to get a head start on chilling the ingredients by keeping the vodka/gin in the freezer (don’t worry it won’t freeze) and the vermouth in the fridge. Grab those and fill your shaker up about 1/3 to 1/2 way full of ice. Make sure you are using good clean ice because any impurities will spoil the taste of the martini. Pour 2 to 2 1/2 ounces of vodka/gin into the shaker and top off with a splash of dry vermouth. There are a lot of different ideas of how to mix in the vermouth, but I find this simple approach works quite well. If you want a dirty martini, add a splash of olive brine, too.
Now start shaking vigorously. Harder! Keep shaking non-stop for about 20 seconds or until ice is forming on the outside of the shaker. If you fingers are going numb you’re there!
Get your glass (dumping the ice and water out) and strain the martini into it. If you’ve shaken it enough there will be small pieces of shaved ice floating on the surface. That’s the indication that it’s been done properly.
Now just garnish with an olive, pearl onion or your choice of fresh citrus zest. The zest twist shouldn’t have any pith, and the aromatic oils will enhance the drink presentation, just as the toothpicked olive or onion do.
So that’s it. You’ve got a wonderful refreshing martini ready to drink – so get to it!
Cheers!
While today it is very trendy to create all sorts of specialty drinks, serve them up in a martini glass and give them evocative names like the Chocotini, Appletini or Berrytini, these drinks are not true martinis.
It boils down to only three basic things:
--- Quality of the ingredients
--- Temperature
--- Garnish
A classic martini has only two, or at most three, ingredients: the base liquor (either gin or vodka), dry vermouth and possibly olive brine if it’s a dirty martini. In selecting the bottle of gin or vodka, you need to remember that you will essentially be drinking it straight up, without anything to substantially alter its taste. Therefore, a premium or top shelf quality liquor is required. This doesn’t mean you need to buy the priciest brands at the store. Market price takes into account perception of quality, so only you as a consumer can determine what makes your mouth happy.
You really can’t go wrong with Skyy, Stolichnaya, Absolut or the higher priced Ketel One and Grey Goose for vodka or Beefeater, Tanqueray or the super-premium Bombay Sapphire and Mercury London Dry for gin drinkers. For the dry vermouth, there typically is not a tremendous amount of selection, but don’t purchase a cheap off-brand. Stick with Martini & Rossi or Cinzano or other comparably priced brands.
So now, we’ve got our selected tasty ingredients on hand. One of the biggest problems I find when ordering a martini in a bar is that it is served too warm. For a martini to be crisp, clean, knock-your-socks-off great, it has to be very cold.
To easily do this, start off by putting the martini glasses in a freezer, or if one isn’t available, then fill them with ice and a little water and set aside.
I always like to get a head start on chilling the ingredients by keeping the vodka/gin in the freezer (don’t worry it won’t freeze) and the vermouth in the fridge. Grab those and fill your shaker up about 1/3 to 1/2 way full of ice. Make sure you are using good clean ice because any impurities will spoil the taste of the martini. Pour 2 to 2 1/2 ounces of vodka/gin into the shaker and top off with a splash of dry vermouth. There are a lot of different ideas of how to mix in the vermouth, but I find this simple approach works quite well. If you want a dirty martini, add a splash of olive brine, too.
Now start shaking vigorously. Harder! Keep shaking non-stop for about 20 seconds or until ice is forming on the outside of the shaker. If you fingers are going numb you’re there!
Get your glass (dumping the ice and water out) and strain the martini into it. If you’ve shaken it enough there will be small pieces of shaved ice floating on the surface. That’s the indication that it’s been done properly.
Now just garnish with an olive, pearl onion or your choice of fresh citrus zest. The zest twist shouldn’t have any pith, and the aromatic oils will enhance the drink presentation, just as the toothpicked olive or onion do.
So that’s it. You’ve got a wonderful refreshing martini ready to drink – so get to it!
Cheers!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Meta-Word Link 2 is now on-line
My latest word linking puzzle is now available to play.
The biggest, baddest Word Link puzzle to date is now available!
There are 25 different themes embedded in this puzzle that you must link to.
Some themes will be revealed upon entering the grid, while others you must guess.
This puzzle has an overall theme, which leads to solving the master--or meta puzzle.
There are Meta Clues concealed in the puzzle. These are in yellow. Once all of these clues are exposed a player can attempt to guess the meta-answer. Watch the right hand upper corner.
This game will challenge your mental elasticity—so again, collaboration is highly encouraged.
THE GAME ONLY WORKS ON MOZILLA FIREFOX, NOT EXPLORER
http://funny-farm.appspot.com/game/m2
The biggest, baddest Word Link puzzle to date is now available!
There are 25 different themes embedded in this puzzle that you must link to.
Some themes will be revealed upon entering the grid, while others you must guess.
This puzzle has an overall theme, which leads to solving the master--or meta puzzle.
There are Meta Clues concealed in the puzzle. These are in yellow. Once all of these clues are exposed a player can attempt to guess the meta-answer. Watch the right hand upper corner.
This game will challenge your mental elasticity—so again, collaboration is highly encouraged.
****NOTE****
THE GAME ONLY WORKS ON MOZILLA FIREFOX, NOT EXPLORER
http://funny-farm.appspot.com/game/m2
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