By Danielle Rexrode
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Everyone from young professionals to retirees has discovered wine tasting as a great way to sample a variety of wines while sharing the cost, and Charlestown is no exception.

“It’s hard to go wrong with wine these days,” says Ed Horak, who started the Charlestown Wine Appreciation Group with his wife. “The competition is so intense that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a good bottle of wine. You can get a good bottle for $6, $7, $8, or $10.”

For about $6, Charlestown Wine Appreciation Group members sample six wines, along with bread, cheese, and other appetizers. “Each month, we try to do a different theme,” says Horak. “We’ve featured wines from California, Italy, South Africa, Australia, and even Russia. We’ve also hosted tastings with wines for spring, wines with funny names, and wines from a popular Italian grocery in Baltimore.”

The perfect combination
Members of the Charlestown Wine Appreciation Group come to the casual events for lighthearted conversation and leave having learned a little something about wine too.

“I look forward to it each month,” says Yvette Wilson, whose familiarity with wine stems from growing up in a French family. “My father was a connoisseur. We always had wine with dinner. Of course, when we were children, it was mixed with water. But it was the connection that was important for me—wine was always a part of eating one’s meal. I still don’t know as much about wine as I would like to, but I’m learning a lot. [The Charlestown wine club] is a very interesting group of people, and the tastings give us the opportunity to learn more about each other as well as the wine.”

Horak’s goal is to make the tastings educational as well as fun. “We have lots of handouts and talk about what areas the wines come from, what types of grapes are used, and the vinification process of turning grapes into wine,” he says.