A Tasty Trip Around the World

With more than 20 years in the wine business, Lora Kott knows how to navigate through a wine tasting – even one with a selection of
almost 100 wines.

Kott, wine manager of Armanetti’s Fine Wines, will bring her expertise to Del Webb Sun City’s Wine Tasting event, set for 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, May 7 at Sun City's Prairie Lodge.

“People can taste wines from all around the world,” said Kott. “There will be wines from California, Italy, Spain, France, and South Africa…People can get an education about grapes they’ve never heard of before…and there will also be champagnes and sparkling wines.”

Mary Hartje, assistant coordinator of lifestyles at Sun City, is planning the event.

“I came up with the idea of having a wine tasting event here because it has never been done and there is a strong draw for wines, with the health benefit of drinking a glass of wine in the evening for the antioxidants,” she said. “I wanted something that would provide education so people could start learning how to pair wines with foods and try things they otherwise wouldn’t.”

Buying a bottle of wine without having tasted it first is a little risky, she said, so wine tastings can give people an opportunity to learn what they prefer.

Kott said guests should make the most of the event by prioritizing wines they know they want to taste, and giving those a try before the others, so the flavors are still distinct.

“When you’re tasting wine, you want to go from lightest to heaviest,” said Kott, who started out in the beverage industry at Grand Victoria Casino in Elgin, and later owned her own martini bar. “Taste the chardonnays and sauvignon blancs first, before the heavier reds. That’s most important in a tasting.”

The tables at Sun City will be set up to introduce tasters to the whites first, she said.

“Taste what you are interested in first, though,” she said. “You can’t go from tasting Cabernets and red blends and any chiantis and heavy reds first and then tasting pinot noirs. It just doesn’t work very well.”

Hartje said the wine event is geared to give non-residents of Sun City a peek at the community.

I am really looking to bring the public in so we can show what a wonderful neighborhood we have here,” she said. “In the past, everything was very much closed to non-residents, and in recent years we have kind of opened that up.”

Hartje said up to 300 guests are anticipated. The event will also feature breads, cheeses, fruits and vegetables. Each guest will receive a souvenir wine glass too.

“Try to pair older age cheeses with darker reds, and maybe some of the fruit and veggies with the chardonnays, and sauvignon blancs, and lighter wines,” Kott said.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door.