A wine tasting for two
A tasting for two is the smallest party there is, and one of the best. Two glasses, a few bottles in bags, and a sheet that makes it a game instead of a quiet drink.
Duetto is that sheet. The glasses run down the middle of one landscape page, numbered, and your two columns face each other across them. For each glass you fill five rings for how much you like it, write one word, and guess what it is. Nobody sees the other column until the reveal. Then you read them out to each other, glass by glass, and fill in the two lines at the foot: what you agreed on, and what you fought over.
Choose four to six wines that differ: a white and a red from the same grape, two prices of the same wine, or two countries. Number the bottles with the bottle tags, hide them in bags, and pour about 4 cl a glass, a little less if there are six. Water, bread and a spittoon on the table keep the tasting honest.
The host sheet keeps the answers. If you type the wines in when you make the sheets, their order is drawn for you and printed only there, so whoever holds the host sheet can pour without peeking at the other's column. The reveal cards turn the answers into a small ceremony: one card per wine, laid face down by each bottle and turned at the end.
When it is over, the keepsake has room for the podium, the wines and both your names: the sheet you keep. Everything is free, in black and white, and prints on A4 or Letter.
Duetto is chosen for this evening; you can swap it on the next screen.
Questions
How many wines do we need for two people?
Four is a good evening, six if you want a longer one. One bottle of each is far more than two people taste, so pick half bottles or open bottles you will drink later in the week.
Who hides the bottles if there are only two of us?
Wrap the bottles in bags or socks, number them with the bottle tags, and let a third person or the shop pour, or take turns: one of you pours the first half, the other the second.
What is Duetto?
Duetto is the sheet for two: the glasses run down the middle and your two columns face each other, so you can read them out glass by glass. At the foot you write what you agreed on and what you fought over.