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A real corker

Sip your way through 35 selections of merlots, cabernets and other vintages at the annual Gavel and Grapes wine tasting Saturday in Tarpon Springs.

TARPON SPRINGS - Whether you know a gamay from a gewurztraminer (they're grape types), you can confidently taste your way through 35 selections of merlots, cabernets, pinot noirs, chardonnays and other types of vintages at the fifth annual Gavel and Grapes wine tasting this weekend in downtown Tarpon Springs.

More than 2,000 wine connoisseurs are expected to attend this year's event, a fundraiser for the Tarpon Springs Business Alliance.

"People sample and mingle," said Jasmine Bohnke, in charge of publicity for the event which raises about $5,000 annually. "It's an attraction."

After paying the $12.50 admission fee in advance ($15 day of the event), you can stroll from tent to tent between Hibiscus Avenue and Ring Avenue while a DJ plays jazz trying different vintages along the way. At each stop, you get 11/2 ounces, or two fingers' worth.

"This is a true taste," said Paul Menzer, president of the event. "Some swish it around and disregard it (spit it out). Most drink it, clean their palate with a cracker and go on to the next."

But say you savor, swallow, and fall in love with a particular wine.

What then? Do you just walk away?

"If you like a wine you've tried, you can get a whole glass of it for four tickets," said Bohnke. "There was a Riesling we had last year . . . it sold out."

At each of the six tents, experts from Johnson Brothers Liquor Co., Italian Corners Fine Wines National Distributors and others will teach you to appreciate the nuances, the distinct flavors and aromas of each selection.

This year, the organizers made some changes to the event, including adding two extra hours, expanding it from 6 to 10 p.m. to 4 to 10 p.m.

But, organizers hope to keep it low key, unlike years past.

They said people were, ah, having too much fun. This is a classy affair, after all.

"Some people were getting away from tasting to guzzling and getting (drunk)," Menzer said. "So we are rationing."

Still, with each entry coupon sold, each person gets 16 onces of alcohol.

That's a lot, Menzer said.

"It puts them on edge," said Menzer.

But since there have been few problems in the past, he's not too worried.

He thinks people will behave.

The event "is a way to find out a wine they like without them having to purchase a whole bottle to find out," he said.

"It (attracts) a classy crowd," he said.

- Eileen Schulte can be reached at 727 445-4153 or schulte@sptimes.com

Sample wines from around the world at the Fifth Annual Gavel and Grapes Wine Tasting, Music and Auction from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday between Hibiscus Avenue and Ring Avenue in Tarpon Springs. There will be an auction featuring a Toronto Blue Jays 2004 spring training luxury box (valued at $1,000), art and other items. Admission is $12.50 in advance, $15 at the gate. A DJ will play jazz. Free parking but if you want to taste some wine, you'll have to pay up. For information, call (727) 938-3156.