I recently had the amazing opportunity of having Angela Aiello’s  iYellow Wine Club come to me. iYellow Wine Club is a social wine club in Toronto, and Angela hosts regular wine events, wine tours and wine school classes. To give She Does The City a preview of what we can expect at iYellow, Angela hosted a wine tasting at my place for a bunch of gals I like. Angela rang the doorbell about half an hour before the guests arrived, and it was like having a fun, pretty and classy friend come over with an armful of wine.

Angela started a casual and engaging conversation on wine and did several blind tastings in steps. Smell, swirl, taste, and then guess what it is (she shows you what you should be looking for). By doing blind tastings, she allows you to knock your preconception of your wine preferences. Surprisingly, one of the group’s collective favorites turned out to be a Chardonnay (gasp!), which sadly has a similar rap to a sweater set in the wine trends department. She suggests walking into the wine store like you would walk into a bookstore. You know you want something good, but it can be overwhelming at times, and it is important to know your mood, what you’re eating and how much you want to spend. The density/heaviness of the wine should mimic that of the food. Okay, even I can comprehend that. What was great about the bottles she brought was that they were all completely reasonably priced and often something you wouldn’t necessarily think of picking up.

No questions were dumb ones (some of us learned that rosé is NOT red and white wine mixed together) and the evening was more about hanging around and having a conversation. Angela runs wine trips (she recently came back from Italy), hosts events, is a monthly wine columnist for Style at Home magazine.

iYellow is hosting three upcoming wine trips on Sept. 29, Oct. 13 and Oct. 20. On each trip, guests will visit three different wineries in the Niagara region, receive a boxed lunch, and a free wine carrier. Transportation is included: sounds like a great mini-vacation to us.

For more info, click here.

If you want a more in-depth education, they’ve launched their fall iYellow wine school on Wednesday evenings at the Ritz-Carlton from 6-7:30 pm. The classes take place at TOCA Restaurant, and if you book dinner afterwards, you receive 15% off your meal!

Angela’s energy and knowledge of wine is infectious. Even if you aren’t a drinker, a couple of facts you can pick up from her about wine will no doubt add a classy touch to the next dinner party your find yourself at.

And Chardonnay, I’m sorry. You’re actually not that bad after all.

~ Molly McGlynn