Local wine nerd fearlessly leading popular 10 for $10 tastings

What began as an idea to create a small wine-drinking community has become an event that piques the interest of thousands.

Landon Proctor birthed his brainchild back in 2014 at Rehab Tavern with the intent to start a recurring monthly wine tasting that people could attend regularly. He wanted it to be a place for people to make friends. What better way to socialize than with a few glasses of pinot in you, right? Proctor called the event 10 for $10– Ten wine tastings for 10 bucks. He’d post the events on Facebook and they did alright at first. But last year, Facebook changed so users are now able to see what events their friends are “interested” in attending and that’s when 10 for $10s blew up.

“I think it also helps that I try to keep my tastings generally relaxed and unstuffy,” said Proctor. “I can get as detailed, technical, and wine-nerdy as you want but people seem to think it works well as a gentle introduction if you haven’t had a lot of wine before.”

10 for $10 quickly outgrew Rehab Tavern’s capacity. Proctor began asking other venues around town if they’d be interested in hosting and the response was overwhelmingly positive. So now, 1.1k+ people RSVP to the monthly events with “interested” which usually garner a few hundreds guests that actually attend.

“Grab a friend and don’t overthink it,” Proctor advises. “Americans are too hung up on drinking wine ‘the right way’ or worried about mispronouncing something. These are snob-free tastings designed to get people excited about good wine and to give people an opportunity to take home what they learn and a few bottles of their favorites to share with friends.”

Check out tonight’s 10 for $10 at Yellow Brick Pizza in Olde Towne East. Visit the Facebook event here.

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