Pip: Naples, Florida — where the humidity is high, the wine lists are longer, and apparently blind tasting is the city's unofficial summer sport.

Mara: This episode covers the Naples wine calendar through summer 2026, courtesy of Exceptional Wine Experiences — group dinners, a women's tasting collective, and a gentlemen's series that's now on its eighteenth gathering.

Pip: Let's start with the dinner series, because there are a lot of them.

Wine Tasting Dinners in Naples This Summer

Mara: The through-line across these dinners is that the format is always doing double work — great food at a notable venue, but also a blind tasting challenge baked into the evening.

Pip: The June 6th dinner at Tulia Italian Steakhouse spells that out directly. The post describes "the thrill of blind tasting" as part of what makes the evening — not a parlor trick, but a design choice for "our community of passionate wine lovers."

Mara: Right, and the blind element at Tulia runs two rounds on Saturday: a sparkling wine and a structured red, both poured without labels. The post asks: "Champagne? Franciacorta? Cava? Perhaps something unexpected." That uncertainty is the point.

Pip: Twenty-two wines by the glass available alongside a three-course Italian menu. The Tulia dinner is already sold out, which suggests the format works.

Mara: The May series at Blackbird Modern Asian followed the same blind-tasting architecture — sparkling and white poured mystery-first, paired with small plates like Duck Lettuce Cups and Spicy Pork Wontons. That one sold out too.

Pip: Asian small plates and blind Champagne identification. Honestly, that's a better Thursday night than most people manage.

Mara: The next open date is July 11th at The Warren, billed as "A Wine and Foodie Dream." That one includes a guided blind tasting of three wines — sparkling, white, and red — led by the sommelier host, plus thirty percent off The Warren's dinner menu for the group.

Pip: Three wines, no labels, no varietal clues. The post puts it plainly: "Without labels, regions, or varietal clues, you'll rely solely on your senses."

Mara: That's the consistent promise across all three venues — the blind format strips away the shortcuts and puts the focus back on what's in the glass. The Warren event is $75 prepaid and seats are limited, so it's the one still available to book.

Pip: From group dinners to a group with a very specific membership policy — the Dames have entered the calendar.

The Irrefutable Dames of Wine Snobbery

Mara: The Irrefutable Dames of Wine Snobbery is a women's wine group built around monthly tastings at serious venues. The founding post frames it directly: "a place to uncork, unwind, and elevate your wine journey."

Pip: The May 28th gathering was at Tulia, themed around Italian wine and cuisine. Each Dame is expected to arrive having selected a bottle from the wine list — and be ready to talk about why.

Mara: The June 25th gathering moves to Bicyclette Cookshop, same expectation: bring a bottle in the sixty-to-one-fifty range and be prepared to discuss the wine, the region, the winemaker, even travel to the wine's country of origin. It's a tasting group that asks members to do the homework.

Pip: The gentlemen have been at this since January 2025 — let's see what eighteen events looks like.

The Extraordinary League of Gentlemen Wine Snobs

Mara: Event 18 of the Gentlemen Wine Snobs series lands June 24th at a member's private home in Naples, and the theme is a deliberate provocation: nineteen Costco-branded wines from around the world, poured blind.

Pip: The post names the tension honestly — "some say it's better and better while others simply write the brand off" — and frames the evening as the group's verdict.

Mara: Eleven of the nineteen bottles are Cabernets, plus whites and sparkling. The host is covering wine and dinner. The mission, as the post puts it, is simply: "Keep an open mind."

Pip: Ten seats, private address, bring your palate and your humility.

Mara: The summer calendar here is built around one consistent idea — that tasting blind, in good company, at a well-set table, is how you actually learn what you like.

Pip: More of that, and fewer people reading the label before forming an opinion. Same time next episode.