Muted lighting illuminated ten or so recently acquainted guests seated around a low wooden table, upon which stood four unopened bottles of wine and an array of shiny wine glasses. It would be easy to mistake this small gathering for a tasting session at a professional wine bar, except for the one glaring discrepancy—the guests are all college students, dressed in their usual Thursday night garb of jeans and sweatshirts.

Welcome to the living room of Luke Pang ’10, where he hosts informal wine tasting gatherings for his friends, and friends of friends. Not meant to be a posh, hoity-toity affair, Pang’s objective for holding these sessions—which he plans to continue on a regular basis—is very modest.

“I figured it would be great to be able to share views on how a certain wine tasted and to see how accurate my opinion of a wine was,” Pang said.

Despite his humility, Pang is still able to teach his guests a little bit about fine wine. On the menu that evening were four bottles from Bogle’s Vineyard, a Californian wine producer: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Before opening a bottle, Pang gave an introduction to the nature and the expected taste of the specific wine. Opinions were then shared after a first appreciative sip.

“I was able to learn from others which was definitely more fun than just learning from a book,” Pang said.

Pang gets his wine from City Beverage, a liquor store near Middletown, which, he says, has an excellent wine selection. So good, in fact, that his ambitions for future tasting sessions include comparing regional differences between whites and reds, tasting the difference between wines from a certain country, and covering the different varieties of wine.
With all of these goals in mind, it behooves Pang even more to have gatherings like these, which allow him (and a lucky few) to share the cost on an eclectic selection of wine.
“One of the reasons I decided to do this was because I would get drunk if I had a bottle of wine by myself,” he said. “Now, though, I can try many different kinds of wine and still get some homework done after, and not be broke.”

Pang’s newest endeavor functions in a similar manner as his semi-private supper club. Pang invites a few close friends, who invite their own friends, creating a network of wine connoisseurs to be.

Pang’s interest in wine is tightly intertwined with his passion for food and cooking. As a young boy living in Singapore, his father would bring him to wine tastings at supermarkets.
“I hated the stuff,” he confessed. “It puckered my mouth and wasn’t sweet.”

Now, however, wine tasting plays a huge part in enhancing his appreciation of flavors and textures, carrying over the realm of food.

Towards the end of the tasting session, the socially lubricating nature of wine started to take its boisterous effect, despite the grounding presence of a plate of crackers. Conversation started to flow smoothly and opinions regarding the wine were exchanged without hesitation.
“There was a real atmosphere of sharing and exchange,” said Conan Cheong ’12, one of the guests that night. “Even though Luke led the session, he downplayed the instructional aspect and made it more comfortable and informal.”

This reporter left the wine tasting feeling exuberant, a little more knowledgeable, and considerably more light-headed than at the beginning of the evening. Pang, however, still wants to emphasize the educational philosophy behind his gatherings.

“I really hope that people will learn to enjoy wine and not treat it as something pretentious, nor as a mere tool to get drunk,” he stressed. “Effort was made into producing a good wine, so it would be irresponsible let it end up in a toilet.”