Navigate
Connect With Us

Tannins and Tar Heels: Virtual Wine Tasting

Thursday, Nov. 5 | 6-7 p.m. (EDT)
Wherever You Are
Complimentary event; All alumni and friends 21 or older welcome (Thanks to Carolina Alumni member dues for making this event possible!)

Sign up.

Do you enjoy dry tannins of a good Cabernet Sauvignon (we looked that up, it’s the compound in grapes that give some wines a drying sensation )? Or, the crisp mouthfeel of a Sauvignon Blanc (we looked it up too, that’s the texture of a wine)? Click in with Tar Heels for a wine tasting with wine writer Cindy Rynning ’79 (MSLS). Cindy has picked five wines for us to taste that you can find at your local wine shop, as well as a special Chardonnay direct from the Chappellet Vineyard, one of the great family-owned and run Napa Valley wineries. We’ll learn from Cindy tips for tasting wine and pairing ideas for your Thanksgiving dinner. Read more about Cindy and see what wine we’re tasting below.

When you sign up, you’ll receive a confirmation email with the link to join the wine tasting on Zoom. All you’ll need to do is purchase the wines you’d like to taste with us (as few or as many as you’d like!), and click in on Nov. 5 for your wine education.

Cindy Rynning '79 (MSLS)

Cindy Rynning ’79 (MSLS) has been writing about wine on her award-winning wine blog, Grape Experiences, since 2011. She passed the Wine and Spirit Trust (WSET) Level 3 program with Merit in 2012. Cindy is based in Chicago where she attends international and national trade tastings and media events, meets and interviews winemakers and others who share their stories, and writes about tastings, food and wine pairings, wine travels and more.

She has written for a variety of print and digital publications including Crave Local, Wine Tourist Magazine, Wine Traveler, Wine Enthusiast and the wine club newsletter of Cooper’s Hawk Winery and Restaurants. Cindy is co-creator of YouTube channel, Crush On This. She received the Drizly Blogger Award as Best Wine Blog – 2017 and her site was recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Wine Blogs in the world in 2015 and as the Lux International Magazine Best Wine Blog – U.S. in 2016, 2017 and 2018. Two of her articles were finalists in the Millesima Wine Blog Awards – Wine Travel category in both 2017 and 2018. Cindy has been featured on Good Day Chicago Fox 32, WGN-TV Channel 9 and The Jam on Chicago’s WCIU TV within the last year.

Grape Experiences is included in Feedspot’s Best 100 Wine Blogs, Websites and Influencers to Follow in 2020 with a consistent number 9 ranking and just recently, Cindy is ranked as one of the Top 101 Wine Writers of 2020 by Corking Wines.

A former educator, Cindy understands the value of lifelong learning and strives to share her knowledge of wine through writing, social media, personalized wine tastings and real-life conversation in order to inform, entertain and inspire others to discover the beauty of our favorite beverage: wine.

Wines We're Tasting

Cindy will help you elevate your wine taste from the grocery store shelf, while still being cost conscious and easily accessible. In addition to five wines ranging from $12-$26, Cindy has arranged for a special discount from Chappellet Vineyard in Napa Valley on their 2018 Double C Chardonnay. Feel free to purchase as few or as many wines to taste along with us, or taste a few during the tasting and revisit the others over the weekend. Below are links to national retailers where you can find these wines, but you may also be able to find these at your local wine shop.

Sparkling Wine: Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut NV, $19 at Total Wine or wine.com

Sauvignon Blanc: Joel Gott Sauvignon Blanc 2019, $11 at Total Wine, $12 at wine.com

Chardonnay: 2018 The Double C Chardonnay Chappellet, $30 direct from Chappellet *Participants in Tannins and Tar Heels can also receive special discounts on orders of 6, 12 or 24 bottles and receive discounts with the coupon code “TARHEELS”

Pinot Noir: Hahn Pinot Noir Santa Lucia Highlands, $18 at Total Wine

Zinfandel: Cline Cellars Ancient Vines Zinfandel, $12 at Total Wine, $16 at wine.com

Cabernet Sauvignon: Daou Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, $22 at Total Wine, $26 at wine.com

Share via: