Educational wine gift or fun wine gift?

We got an email yesterday from someone shopping for a fun wine gift who wondered how heavy the “educational” part of Cork Jesters Wine Teasers is.

The answer is that the game is an actual card game with rules that work, meaning it can be played just for fun with no learning required. The rules keep things moving at a good pace and offer a bit of chance along with the opportunity for minor skulduggery.  It’s definitely a game, so that makes it a fun wine gift.

HOWEVER, for people who want to learn about wine, Wine Teasers wine game offers many opportunities. In fact, one of the Wine Teasers product reviews state that the game can be used as an excellent source of wine reference. So it’s also an excellent educational wine gift.

Players (the more-or-less sober ones, that is) can absorb a lot of good, accurate wine information as they play. Nobody HAS to do that, but it’s there for those who want it. Each question has a one-paragraph answer that goes a little more in depth. People who want to play fast often ignore those explanations. Those who want to learn a bit more or who have their interest piqued by a question spend a moment or two on the explanation.

Another big take-it-or-leave-it learning opportunity lies in the wine bottle cards. The game includes 30 cards that represent real-life wines. Those cards have descriptions that include the grape, origins, tasting notes, food pairings, and price range. The image shows one of those cards.

People have reported that they’ve taken the wine cards with them when shopping for wine. The cards fit easily in a pocket, and with real images of wine labels, the cards make it easy to find the wine of interest.

So what’s the answer? Is Cork Jester’s Wine Teasers an educational wine gift or is it a fun wine gift? The answer is: “YES!”

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