50 Shades of Seductive Wines

Thanks to the Scarsdale Adult School, on Wednesday night, Vintology (10 Palmer Rd) was the scene of Shades of Grey, White and Red as they hosted "The Wines of Christian Grey". Christian was unable to attend, but 14 women were privileged to try his favorite wines. Although, as one woman commented, "I never really noticed the wines"! The sexy, steamy and controversial trilogy however was ripe with marvelous white and red wines that gave some insight into Christian. Elizabeth Miller, manager of Vintology, treated us not only to the history of the wines themselves, but a trivia contest related to the books. There was no doubt some of us were a bit embarrassed to admit we read closely enough to answer trivia questions. But guess we did. And those who answered correctly were treated to a prize of a mini bottle of rose found in the book. Husband beware, (or maybe get excited) we were coming home with Shades of Grey wine! Each wine was accompanied by the quote from the book they appeared in and more red faces ensued when Elizabeth asked for volunteers to read the quotes. Some were rather tame and there was definitely a bidding war to read those quotes as opposed to some of the more salacious ones. But everyone was good natured, and quickly got into the spirit of the evening. Christian would have been proud. And now for some of the wines. Included are the parts of the trilogy where you can find these wines. Feel free to buy them and reread the books while you drink each particular wine. Who knows what that will lead to.

"He leans down and kisses me, pouring a delicious, crisp liquid into my mouth as he does. It's so unexpected so hot though it's chilled and Chistian's lis are cool. Fifty Shades of Grey page 162. Okay...this is going to be a wine tasting like no other.

Flor Rose Prosecco NV, Valdobbiadene. $18. A wonderful aperitif or great to accompany a dessert. Christian and Anastasia drank this in Fifty Shades of Grey on page 268. This was one of those "tame" quotes that had many of the women volunteering to read aloud.

Conte Brandolini Pinot Grigio Friuli DOC 2011. $14. A lively and fruity white from NE Italy. Fifty Shades Darker, page 57. "Christian leans against the couch, with his tasseled hair, his long legs stretched out in front of him". Slightly fewer volunteers for this passage and some "nervous" laughter followed. We were starting to get this feeling we would need much more to drink to continue. Luckily more great wines to follow.

Vincent Vatan Pouilly Fume 2009. $22. a crisp, fruity 100% savignon blanc grade from the Loire Valley. Fifty Shades Freed, page 191. "You like the wine?" he whispers, his breath warm on my cheek. I'm bathes in his proximity, his vitality, the head radiating fro his body, even though he doesn't touch me". Oh my. It took a couple of minutes for one brave woman, her face redder than a Cabernet, to volunteer to read this aloud. The rest of us were just anxious to drink. And drink. And drink some more.

Gilbert Picq & ses Fils Chablis 2010. $24. Fifty Shades of Grey, page 250. This crisp, steely and edgy wine from Burgundy probably most personified Christian. Thank goodness the quote was tame. We had been drinking a lot of wine by this point. "Why thank you Miss Steele", he mummers. He sits beside me, holding a bottle of wine. "Chablis?"

"The Hedonist" Shiraz 2010, McLaren Vale, Australia. $26. The only red wine in the book, ridiculously aptly named and a elegant, feminine and delicate wine form the south central coast of Australia. "I know nothing about wine. You chose," I answer sullen buy chastened. "Two glasses of Shiraz, please" Christian chooses. Interesting he chose a light and delicate red wine. The major problem in reading this quote aloud was that we had been drinking for an hour and half by this point. But spirits remained high, laughter was constant and trust me, we were all BFFs. It's amazing how quickly you bond with strangers drinking and discussing what are essentially porn novels!

This was a wonderful night, the wines were excellent and Elizabeth did an amazing job putting it all together, researching the wines of the trilogy and explaining their characteristics. Being responsible adults, very few of us drove, so as we all staggered out to our pre-arranged rides, our minds were on wines, friends, new friends, and getting home, perhaps to re-read the trilogy.