Individual teaching styles vary. Mr. Zona, a former New York City headhunter who began Swirl Wine Events in 2006, approaches wine “from a fun place.”

“It’s part of the social fabric, and I try to put that across,” he said. To that end, Mr. Zona, who will begin a series of wine classes at Above Restaurant and Bar in South Orange next month, hosted an impromptu Girl Scout cookie and wine pairing at Arturo’s Osteria and Pizzeria in Maplewood last year.

“It was just six boxes of Girl Scout cookies and six bottles of wine,” Mr. Zona said. “Whoever was at the restaurant and wanted to join us came and sat with us.” He adds novelty to his public and private events — he does around four a month in New Jersey and New York, he said — in less whimsical ways, too, like making trips to Ferry Street in Newark to find unusual Portuguese, Spanish and South American wines.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/nyregion/24dinenj.html

There are no wrong answers in wine, except white zinfandel. At least that’s what Hank Zona told a crowd of wine enthusiasts at the Millburn Farmers Market Tuesday.

Zona, a Maplewood resident, talked wine—including the differences between white, rose and red—and poured a taste of six different types during the weekly market. He also talked about marketing in wine. Zona runs Swirl Wine Events.

Among the types of wines people tasted were Good Daughter Chardonnay from North Coast, Calif., Casa Rossa Rose from France, Red Table Wine from Vacchiano Vineyards in Warren Hills, Bandit Cabernet Sauvignon from California, PromisQous Red Blend from California and Deep Purple Zinfandel from Lodi, Calif. Vacchiano Farms is also a vendor at the Millburn. Market.

http://millburn.patch.com/videos/a-taste-of-food-and-wine

I can’t think of much I enjoy more than sipping a glass of wine on the deck with friends. But that moment of pleasure is a far cry from the torment of standing amid aisles and aisles of wine bottles, all begging to be pulled out from the bunch. What is there to choosing a bottle? What regions are producing the best buys now? What wines are particularly good for spring into summer? Luckily, we have Hank Zona from Swirl Wine Events to share some tips and tricks of the trade and provide some context for picking out wine.

Maplewood resident Hank Zona’s brainchild, Swirl Wine Events, coordinates everything from wine classes to tastings to corporate functions to fundraisers to private parties and does events for groups with anywhere from six to 250 people. Basically, if it involves wine, it involves Swirl Wine Events. Just this week, Hank did a wine and chocolate pairing birthday party for 14 women, working with a chocolatier out of Cranford to highlight some unique confectionery finds. He’s even taught a company’s sales staff how to order wine at a restaurant when wining and dining clients, and he works directly with restaurants, assisting them in wine selection and teaching their waitstaff the finer points of how to talk about wine.

http://southorange.patch.com/articles/stop-whining-about-wine-selection-some-simple-tips

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