This zany, interactive cabaret has already wowed Australian critics with a fistful of awards, including Best Eat and Drink show, at the Adelaide Fringe, and Best Comedy, Fringe World, Perth.
Featuring 1 expert with 5 wines, 2 comedians with no idea, the show is compered by Sweeney Preston and Ethan Cavanagh who greet us with a warm welcome as if we are friends invited to their party. Sitting at large round tables for 6 or 8 guests creates a lively socialising mix of Fringe-goers, perfect for a solo, couples, friends or family groups.
To get to know the audience, the two hosts fire questions about our nationalities and interest in wine. Like a pantomime singsong, we join in the lyrics and arm waves for Hot Potato, Cold Spaghetti, (from the Australian kids’ TV show, The Wiggles) which is a regular choral refrain. Now all warmed up and in party mood, time for the serious stuff: wine tasting with Niina, a local expert from Smith & Gertrude wine bar, Edinburgh. Sweeney and Ethan merely describe a glass of fizz with an enthusiastic Mmm!, while the professional sommelier explains that the Italian Spumante is from Veneto with fruity notes of pear, perfect to sip over Brunch.
Wine-tasting is renowned for its pretentious language and oenophile pomposity, so one randomly selected group in the audience was given a bullshit bell to silence any snobbish comments. Joining in gleefully with impeccable timing, when a guy suggests that the white Rioja has the taste of ‘apple’, their response was an immediate ‘ping.’
With lively banter, ad libbing and improvisation, Sweeney Preston and Ethan Cavanagh have perfected a most original, sharply observed comedic double act with quick witted humour and slick pace. Niina is also brilliantly amusing, a neat balance between professional know-how, (grape varieties, aroma, taste, texture) with delightful anecdotes and suggestions for food pairing.
For fans of the TV series, Faulty Towers, remember the Hotel Inspector episode when Basil tries to show off his knowledge of wine?.
Basil: It's always a pleasure to find someone who appreciates the boudoir of the grape. I'm afraid most of the people we get in here don't know a Bordeaux from a claret.
Mr. Walt. A Bordeaux is a claret.
Basil: What? Oh, Bordeaux is a claret, yes, but they wouldn't know that.
Arriving in Edinburgh after sell-out shows across Australia, In Pour Taste, a comedy wine tasting experience is exactly what it says on the bottle, with a guided tasting of five wines - Sparkling, two whites, a rosé and a red - and ‘at least five jokes’. What could be more refreshing after rushing around Festival city, to be entertained by Preston and Cavanagh with hilarious, lighthearted panache while sipping a glass of vino.
‘The Concept is brilliant’, said Alison sitting beside me, loving every LOL minute, as did the enthusiastic audience.
Showtimes:
1 – 25 August, (not 7, 14, 21) @ 17.50
Ticket prices: £19 (£18), £20 (£19).
Age guidance: 18+
https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/682-in-pour-taste-a-comedy-wine-tasting-experience