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Good afternoon/evening everyone!
Welcome to tonight’s LIVE virtual Australian Opulence tasting.
If you’re planning to participate tonight then thank you - these last few tastings have been our biggest Community tastings ever!
If you’re new to The Community and need help with how to use the forum for the tasting and what the tasting involves, have a read of our guide 'How To - Take part in our virtual #TWSTaste events
We also always start the event properly a few minutes after 8pm so we can all join in with #clapforourcarers if you’d like to participate.
Australian Wine Guide
If you’re new to Australian wines and want to learn a little more before the tasting, have a read of our Ultimate Guide to Australian Wine:
We are also so pleased to announce that our Australia Buyer @Freddy Bulmer will be joining us for this event!
A NOTE FROM FREDDY:
"Australia is one of the most fascinating and yet under-appreciated wine producing countries in the world. All wine regions/countries which have been successful do so because they are able to sum-up what they do in a couple of sentences. A decade or two ago, Australia went too far and tried to do that by summing everything up as simply as “loads of everything apart from the price. Oh and with a kangaroo on the bottle.” This extremely bitesize message rocketed Aus to success in the UK at the bottom-end however it was not sustainable. The issue now is that Australian wine is far from simple and is in fact extremely varied and versatile, with one of the best fine wine offerings in the world. However the public are still stuck with an idea of Australia from years gone by which is now so far from the truth it’s hard to believe!
Whether you wanted fresh, focus and finesse or bloody big blockbuster wines, Australia has it all. From Albarino to Zweigelt, stopping off at cabernet, chardonnay, all the pinots, shiraz and sauvignon, Australia really can do it all."
Who’s on hand to help tonight
We have lots of staff attending tonight, so please feel free to use the below usernames and tag any of us if you need a hand (and if you’re new to The Community, please don’t hesitate to ask any questions you might have!)
@laura - Community Manager
@Kelly - Community Co-ordinator
@Ewan - one of our original Community crew and our PR Manager
@hugofount - from our Brand and Content Marketing Team
@MrLaura - from Member Services
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Here’s how things will work:
- We will post a WIKI (editable list) of who’s tasting what tonight. Have a look and, if you’re not on there, please do add yourself! You can do that by clicking the ‘Edit’ button in the bottom right of the post.
- I’ll also post a poll to see who’s here - please let us know, and feel free to say hi and start chatting before we start.
- We’re all drinking different bottles, so it’s going to be hard to keep track. Whenever you post tonight, please start your post with the name of the wine you’re drinking!
- To begin, we’ll invite you all to pour a glass, have a swirl and take in the aromas, and post your thoughts and first impressions. As there’s so many of us, it would probably be easier if you limit this to one post , so feel free to take your time and have a good swirl and sniff.
- We’ll then taste the wines together and ask you to share your own tasting note. Again, as there are so many of us taking part, it’ll be easier if you take your time and write your tasting note up in one post to help us keep track. Feel free to add any additional food matches and/or your thoughts on how well the wine is drinking now, and how much longer it might age. Anything goes, and there are no wrong answers!
- After this, we’ll possibly have time to ask for your mark out of 10, or final thoughts.
And after that, if people want to continue chatting about their wines then please do!
Looking forward to tonight’s event! See you all there! 
