It was not your traditional wine tasting.

First of all, everybody used only one glass. The food was burgers and dogs. They sat on lawn chairs or clustered around outdoor tables. Halfway through the party, they finished the fourth round of wine.

But the New Jersey chapter of Women For WineSense (www.womenforwinesense.org) was having tons of fun.

It was a muggy Saturday evening in June, and they gathered in the Scotch Plains backyard of a chapter leader. Although the group is dedicated to educating women about wine, men—spouses or significant others—were allowed.

The president and group leader is Zita Keeley, (www.allidoiswine.com), a wine consultant who organizes tastings and trips for fun and profit.

There are fifty members in Zita’s group. They were toasting and tasting, and finishing up the barbeque. Like so many of these gatherings, it was more about catching up with friends and meeting some new folks than the wine itself.

Zita thinks women need to know wine like they need to learn golf; it’s a business survival skill. What about the intimidation factor? Walking into a wine shop, knowing nothing?

No worries. “After all, it’s just fermented grape juice, “ Zita says.