Last night, some friends and I met for our somewhat bi-weekly, whenever-we-can-get-a-critical-mass-of-people-together wine club.

We gathered at a friend’s apartment to try out a variety of wines (each club member brings a bottle to share). The evening included a lot of sniffing deeply into wine glasses and swirling the juice of fermented grapes on our tongues to pick out the hidden flavors - a little raspberry or plum here, the scent of hot chocolate and smoke there. Along the way we nibbled on exotic snacks - spanish marcona almonds, a vegetable terrine, and baked camembert cheese with a balsamic reduction - and enjoyed feeling terribly sophisticated on otherwise ordinary Monday night.

The whole thing actually felt like a good Passover seder - it was relaxed and participatory, with people calling out interesting tidbits they found in the various “haggadot” we had available (Windows on the World Complete Wine Course and The Oxford Companion to Wine. And, of course, there were four - or maybe a few more - glasses of wine.

A few of the folks in our midst have some wine knowledge - I once worked on an organic vineyard, another couple has traveled in Europe’s wine regions, and a third - our resident expert - works as a sommelier at a kosher restaurant in Brooklyn. But as the hour turned late and the the last drops of deep red liquid pooled in the bottom of our glasses, I realized that it didn’t really matter. We were there to taste wine, sure - but really the whole “wine club” thing is just another excuse to get together and hang out. And I’ll happily raise a glass to that.

Start your Own Wine Night (below the jump)

Just do it - You don’t have to be an expert to taste wine. As noted on this blog before, DIY is where it’s at.

Pick a theme - There are endless themes for wine club - you can go with a particular region, or grape, or try all sparkling whites. Last night’s wine theme was Rioja wines. Named after the Rio Oja (a river in Northern Spain), these wines can be red or white as long as they hail from the region. I was told 2001 is a particularly good year for Rioja…but what do I know?

Don’t get drunk - unless you want to - Serious wine tasters drink only enough to analyze the scents and flavors of the wine, and have a spit bucket for the rest. (Of course, if you want to get a little tipsy at wine club, that’s your prerogative.) Turns out, the spit bucket is really gross - but I suppose it serves its purpose. Ours became a subject of much conversation - and repulsion - as the night went on.

Serve amazing snacks - This is ritualized drinking afterall - it should be festive. Our hosts last night picked up on the Spanish theme with the marcona almonds.

Guide yourself - Having a few wine books around to consult makes all the difference between just tasting randomly, and learning a little something along the way. Pick up a copy of Windows on the World Complete Wine Course and The Oxford Companion to Wine to get yourself going.

Go sustainable, sometimes - One night, try serving all organic or local wines to give your wine club some sustainable flair. Check out The Jew & The Carrot’s kosher organic wine list to get you started. And if you have any favorite kosher, organic wines NOT on the list, tell us about them below.

L’chaim!