Sommify, the Best New Board Game For Wine Fun and Learning

If you love wine and are looking for a board game to play with friends and family in your pandemic “bubble,” we have the game for you! Sommify, a new board game by a fun-loving wine couple who got serious about blind wine tasting last year, is an entertaining and educational wine game. And it comes with an added bonus: you’ll learn the deductive method of wine tasting without the insider jargon!

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Before we continue our Sommify review, though, a little about the KnowWines blog. We are an Amazon.com affiliate and we do receive a small commission if you purchase items through our affiliate links at no cost to you. The commissions we receive help us pay for web hosting fees, products to test, and other costs associated with running this site. Thanks for using our affiliate links and supporting our independent blog!

What to Consider Before Buying Sommify

This wine-themed board game has a premium, modern look and is great for evenings in with friends, family, and wine.

Sommify is great gift for wine enthusiasts, and is also a perfect tool for anyone studying for sommelier or WSET courses.

Sommify is not a “Trivial Pursuit” type of wine game. Rather, Sommify requires that you have both wine and wine glasses on hand, so players do need to be over 21 years old.   

Introducing the Sommify Wine Board Game

The Sommify wine board game was invented by a husband and wife team, Conner Taylor and Jessica Bush, who are both in the wine industry. Tired of “stuffy” wine tasting groups, they brainstormed this game as a fun way to learn deductive wine tasting. The result is a fun, relaxed way to learn about wine.

After coming up with the idea for the game, they asked family member Andrew McKee to design it. Once they had a prototype, they sought out funding on Kickstarter. The new wine board game was fully funded within 24 hours!  

The Sommify founders made this video to describe the game and how to play it.

 
 

In addition being available on Amazon.com and at the Sommify website, the board game will be available at several wine bottle shops in the coming weeks and months!

Features and Benefits of the Sommify Wine Board Game

The Sommify wine board game comes in a sleek and modern plastic-wrapped box, making it a good gift. The box itself has a stylish, matte finish and is of high quality construction. The Sommify cards, playing cards, and tokens are also of above-average board game quality.

Each Sommify board game comes with the following items:

  • 1 Sommify Game Board

  • 27 Bottle Shock Cards

  • 6 Sommify Wine Keys

  • 6 Dry Erase Markers

  • 1 Rulebook

  • 6 Pawns

  • 2 Dice

Each player will need to bring one bottle of wine to the party. Since the aim of the game is to identify grape varieties, the list of “allowable” wines is kept to 22 international varieties. These varieties include Albarino, Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, and more!

To familiarize yourself with the rules and guidelines for playing the Sommify board game, check out the Sommify website tutorial.

What Have Others Thought About Sommify

Sommify entered the world of board games with a swell of positivity, as it was funded on Kickstarter in less than 24 hours. Since then, positive responses to the game have continued to grow.

Online, we’ve found several positive reviews. We’ve also taken note that the Sommify board game is showing up in more and more independent wine shops. It’s also available online and was recently featured as a recommended wine gift by Town & Country magazine.

All of the above is great news for what we think is a great new game!

Alternatives to Sommify

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While there are several wine games available online, the Sommify wine board game is unique. It is elegant, educational, and uniquely interactive. We’ve yet to find another board game that focuses specifically on deductive tasting.

While it might be easy to find wine-related gifts online, this is a gift that will satisfy even the most enthusiastic of your wine enthusiast friends.

Our Conclusion on the Sommify Tasting Game

We highly recommend this game for wine lovers interested in learning more about wine in a fun and crowd-pleasing way.

In terms of the size of your gathering, we have found that this is a great wine game for parties of three to six people, maybe a few more. More than eight people might become too many.

Of course, this might not be a good game for someone not interested in wine, and it would definitely not be a good wine game for someone who does not drink.

Overall, we’re glad to add the Sommify board game to our growing wine game collection. With its premium, modern look and sophisticated tasting approach, it really makes a great gift for a wine lover.

Happy tasting, from Know Wines!

Cheers!

Beautiful Wine Puzzles For Surviving This Winter

Recovering from surgery?  Waiting out the pandemic?  Sitting out some inclement weather? Or simply looking for a fun holiday gift for the wine lover in your life? We’ve put together a list of beautiful wine puzzles that will help you pass the time and keep your mind active. These wine puzzles can be enjoyed with or without wine. But if you do enjoy your puzzle with a glass of wine, it’s definitely a low pressure pairing!

Before we continue with our wine puzzle recommendations, though, a little about the KnowWines blog. We are an Amazon.com affiliate and we do receive a small commission if you purchase items through our affiliate links at no cost to you. The commissions we receive help us pay for web hosting fees, products to test, and other costs associated with running this site. Thanks for using our affiliate links and supporting our independent blog!

Types of Wine Puzzles

Wine puzzles, like any other type of puzzle, exist to entertain us, test our knowledge, or challenge our ingenuity. The more pieces a puzzle has, and the smaller those pieces are, the greater the challenge! The wine puzzles we’ve selected depict everything from vineyards to wine bottles to scenes from various wine regions.

History of Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles were invented in the late 1700s in England, first as educational tools and toys for children to learn geography. This year, puzzles have enjoyed a recent increase in popularity, probably due to more people being at home during the pandemic.

To learn more about the history of jigsaw puzzles, check out this short video.

 
 

Best Wine Jigsaw Puzzles

Here’s a collection of our favorite jigsaw puzzles. These puzzles can be shipped to locations in the US and elsewhere.  

Water & Wines: Best Wine Puzzle by A Sommelier

These new wine puzzles by Water & Wines of Sweden are not only the highest quality and most premium product - they also donate a portion of their profits to Charity Water every month.

The puzzles are 1000 pieces and easy to snap together. Inside the box is also a large poster you can frame (or to assist you with putting the puzzle together).

Shipping was fast from Sweden - under 7 days! They have puzzles featuring France, Spain, Italy and you can buy their puzzles directly here.

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Story of Wine Puzzle

This Piatnik puzzle offers a brief, fun “history” of wine. A great gift for your favorite wine aficionado:

Wine Cork Jigsaw Puzzle

Collect wine corks? Challenge yourself with this monochrome wine cork puzzle. This one is sure to perplex even the most practiced puzzlers!

Wine Bottle Puzzle

It’s always “wine time” with this 1,000-piece puzzle that pictures almost as many wine bottles. Another great challenge for puzzle buffs!

Challenging Vineyard Puzzle - 2000 Pieces

This puzzle depicting a beautiful vineyard is very large and boasts 2,000 pieces. At 38 x 27 inches, this one could keep you busy all winter!

Michigan Wine Map Puzzle

Did you know that there are five distinct wine regions in Michigan? Put this puzzle together and learn all about it. A great puzzle for your Midwestern family or friends who enjoy wine and viticulture.

Napa Valley Winery Scene Jigsaw Puzzle

This winery scene puzzle is great fun for anyone who has spent time in Napa and Sonoma, especially if they’ve spent time on Napa’s wine train!

Grapes and Leaves Jigsaw Puzzle - Made in USA

This 1,000 piece puzzle is a fun challenge with a beautiful picture to reward you at the end!

Corkscrew Jigsaw Puzzle - Made of Wood for Decor

This puzzle has a clean, modern design and is sturdy enough to be framed after completion. It even comes with a bonus poster of the poster image to help with solving.

Wine Barrel Jigsaw Puzzle - Made in Germany

This wine barrel jigsaw puzzle has a romantic, old world feel to it. Perfect for cozy, candlelit nights by the fire.

Best Puzzle Mat for Puzzle Storage

Ever have to move a puzzle before you’ve finished it, and then had it fall apart? Huge bummer! This ingenious puzzle mat makes it easy to move a puzzle without impeding your progress! Just roll your unfinished puzzle into the mat and unroll it at your next location.

Looking For More Wine Games?

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If you enjoy other types of puzzles as well, like word-search puzzles, relational or logic puzzles, or conversation-starting conundrums, check out our review on other wine games!

We hope you enjoyed our review of engaging wine puzzles!

Have you found any wine-related jigsaw (or other) puzzles you enjoy?  Let us know in the comments!

Cheers!

Ten Wine Games To Play With or Without Wine

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In the midst of the current Covid-19 crisis, your favorite wine bar or restaurant is likely closed for the coming weeks. Without our usual social outlets, we’re all going to be searching for productive (or at least enjoyable) ways to spend our time at home. Why not learn about wine? And while you’re at it, play classic childhood games, but with wine themes? If you didn’t stock up on wine, no problem. We have a few fun wine games you can play with or without wine!

Before we continue with our tips, though, a little about the KnowWines blog. We are an Amazon.com affiliate and we do receive a small commission if you purchase items through our affiliate links at no cost to you. The commissions we receive help us pay for web hosting fees, products to test, and other costs associated with running this site. Thanks for using our affiliate links and supporting our independent blog!

Host a Blind Tasting Party

Sheltering in place with friends or roommates? A blind tasting party is a great way to pass time and learn something about wine while you’re at it. If you don’t have enough people at home to pull off a tasting party, this could be a romantic evening activity for you and your partner.

To successfully host a blind tasting, you really need the three components provided in this kit in addition to wine glasses.

This kit includes pencils, labels for the wine glasses, bags to cover up the wines, a simple wine aroma and flavor guide, and some pre-printed wine tasting notecards for participants.  The kit accommodates up to 10 participants with 5 wines. Or 5 participants with 10 wines. One participant with 10 wines is not recommended (unless of course, you are a sommelier or wine scholar cramming for an upcoming exam)! 

If your wine tasting group wants to more in-depth than the content that is provided in the kit, you might want to use a resource that explains the “why” and “how” and not just the “what” of the wines you are tasting. This indispensable handbook on flavors released in early 2020 will definitely up your blind wine-tasting game!

Somm Blinder Cards

If you’re a fan of the Somm Movie series or Somm TV, the folks over at Flask Fine Wines have a great wine deck from the makers of the Somm documentary series. These Somm Blinder Cards are similar to the Wine Game Kit, but will definitely take your tasting up a notch!

 
 

With this game, you essentially need the cards, wine, wine glasses, a decanter (optional), pens and paper for scorekeeping, and a spit bucket.  The taster with the lowest points gets to clean the spit bucket!  

Test Your Wine IQ

Looking for a wine game that doesn’t require wine? If Trivial Pursuit is right up your alley, the folks at Helvetiq have this nice Wine IQ game that can be played with as few as 2 and up to 12 players. (Good for a Zoom or Facetime session with family or friends?)

If you (and your friends) don’t know much about wines, don’t worry.  Like in Trivial Pursuit, this game offers a huge variety of questions. The variety makes it easy for wine geeks at all steps in the wine learning journey to play. For example, some of the cards ask about the etymological source of “wine words.” There are math and science questions as well!

Wine Word Puzzles

We love a good wine word puzzle. And let’s face it, there actually might be such a thing as too much Netflix. When you need a nice, quiet activity that still stimulates the brain, word puzzles are the best. That’s why KnowWines developed a flight of FREE wine word searches. Perfect for passing time while sheltering in place!

 
 

Wine Bottle Puzzles

Looking for a hands-on wine bottle puzzle? Those who love 3-D puzzles, wooden puzzle toys, or solving engineering challenges might enjoy one of these brain teaseing wooden wine bottle puzzles. Simply place a wine bottle inside the wooden base then follow the instructions to build the puzzle around the wine bottle!

Whine Games Conversation Starter

Days of social distancing having you at a loss for conversation? This Whine Barrel Conversation Starter does not require wine, and it can be used in person or over Zoom or FaceTime. Inside the “Whine barrel,” there are 150 cards for conversation starters. Not many of the cards are actually about wine, however, so serious wine students might want to pass this one up. 

Foodie Games: Wine and Food Mad Libs

Many GenXers likely remember playing Mad Libs on the school bus or on road trips (with the Etch-a-Sketch buried under the seat!). This fun throwback game can be played alone or with friends. At KnowWines, we personally look forward to unplugging with the Mad Libs Eat and Drink game (and we also look forward to rediscovering the joy of writing dirty phrases in fill-in-the-blank templates!).  

Wine Board Game

For folks who like to take it slow with a nice, focused board game, this unique viticulture game will transport you to Tuscany, Italy, where you (or you and a partner) are given a set of supplies to build a vineyard and winery! The game is constructed of very high-quality pieces. It’s also a strategic game that can be played with two players, but is not as competitive as Catan.

WineOpoly Board Game

Finaly, we’re rounding out our collection of wine games with this classic play on Monopoly - only with wine! The game pieces are wine bottles, corks, and glasses, and Park Place has been replaced with Champagne! Roll the dice and advance to Cheers! We think this is a fun, festive way to spend an evening.

Wine Games Conclusion

There are a number of wine games on the market.  Some wine games are wine-themed plays on old favorites, while others are classic games enclosed in a wine-themed box or barrel.

Some wine games can be played by yourself, with a friend, or with a large group. These group wine games can be adaptable to online play if your friend is not able to meet up with you in person.  Other wine games are for serious wine enthusiasts or for wine newbies to play with a sommelier friend.

Regardless of the game you choose, you’re sure to have fun with or without wine.  

We hope this will help you to fill an evening (or two) with some good, wine-themed fun!

Cheers!


























Wine Games

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Wine should be fun.

Enjoy one (or more) of our free printable wine word search games, and enjoy them with a glass of wine!

Get sassy with our Alsace Word Search.

All is bueno in Buenos Aires with our Argentinian Wine Word Search.

Go on and ace our Australian Wine Word Search.

Get your Grüner on with our Austrian Wine Word Search.

Grab your beau for our Beaujolais Word Search.

You won’t get bored with our Bordeaux Word Search.

Wear your best burgundy for our Bourgogne Word Search.

Don’t Nap(a) your way through our California Wine Word Search.

Pop the cork on our Champagne Word Search.

Bet ya can’t do this Wine Decanter Word Search.

Get silly with our Wine From Chile Word Search.

Blow off some steam with our Fermentation Word Search.

Mosel on down to our German Wine Word Search.

Get a little obscura with our Jura Wine Word Search.

You’re going to love our Loire Valley Word Search.

Do this Word Search (on Napa AVAs) in a sNapa!

Say “Que Syrah Syrah” to our Northern Rhône Word Search.

Chill out with our Popular White Wine Word Search.

Where’s Renaldo in this Wine from Portugal Word Search?

See the wine world through rose-colored glasses with our Rose Word Search!

Ou est la mots in this Savoie Word Search?

Count yourself lucky to have found our Sonoma County AVAs Word Search.

Put on your “Coat de Rhône” for our Southern Rhône Word Search.

Say “Salud!” to this Word Search on Wines from Spain.

Take it easy with our Temperance Word Search.

UR going to love this Wines of Uruguay Word Search.

Get your hands dirty with this Vineyard Soil Word Search.

Take a whiff of this Wine Aromas Word Search.

Don’t fail this Wine Faults Word Search.

We hope you like the flavor of this Wine Tasting Word Search.

Happy word searching, from KnowWines!