Hostess with the Mostess – Throw Your Own Awesome Wine Tasting Party

One of my favorite things to do is share my love of wine with people around me. I also love to entertain. Luckily, when you put these two things together you get a Wine Party! For me, parties are all about the details. I don’t think you could plan any detail that is too small. I believe that the details are what make a party memorable.

I’ve thrown my share of wine tasting parties but I’m constantly reinventing and coming up with new ideas. Here are some tips from me to you so that you can throw the most awesome wine tasting ever.

   

1. Decide What Type of Tasting You Want To Do

            There are a couple of options when it comes to a Wine Tasting Party. First, you can choose to have a “blind tasting” where you put each bottle into a bag. This is a pretty fun way to explore wines you may not usually try. If you don’t want to do a blind tasting, then you can choose to serve either all Whites or all Reds. If you want to really pair up your foods with your wines, I suggest doing it this way. If you really just want to throw a party as an excuse to drink a lot of wine then throw caution to the wind and serve a mixture of everything!

   

2. Choose Your Wine

You can do this one of two ways in my opinion. If you really want to be in control of every single detail of this party, then supply the wine yourself. It can get pricey, but this way you know that what you’ll be serving is good. This can also be a good way to clean out your wine cabinet (I hear there are people with this problem). If you are OK with giving up some control, ask your friends to bring a bottle to share. I guarantee everyone will be more than happy to do this. If they aren’t, perhaps you should accidentally tell them the wrong date for your party.

3. Choose Your Food

Yes, you have to serve food. No, wine doesn’t count as food. Even though there have been evenings where my dinner fit inside a wine glass, class up your party a bit with yummy finger foods! I found that anything on a stick usually goes over well. You can also never go wrong with a fruit and cheese platter. If you are supplying the wine, then you can take your time and choose foods that pair well with the wine. If you don’t feel like taking the time to figure out what food pairs best with a quadruple grape blend Merlot Zin Noir, don’t worry about it. Everything will still taste amazing. Also, don’t go looking for a Merlot Zin Noir. It doesn’t exist. I think.

Glazed Kielbasa Pineapple Bites

Fruit, Cheese and Meats

Bacon Wrapped Breadsticks

Dark Chocolate Cabernet Cupcakes

4. Wine Glasses

I cannot stress this point enough - make sure you have enough glasses. Please don’t throw a wine tasting party and then serve the wine in solo cups. That was OK in college for playing flip cup (yes, I played with wine. Don’t judge me.) but it is NOT OK in your super sophisticated wine party throwing adulthood. If you like throwing parties, invest in an inexpensive set of wine glasses. You can find a set of 12 glasses for like $10. If you buy a cheap set for parties like this, you won’t end up fainting when someone breaks one. Yes, when. Someone WILL break a glass. I also like to have my own special “hostess” glass. Because, why not?

5. Details, Details, Details

Here’s where it gets fun. Make the table where you serve your wine and food look AMAZING. This doesn’t have to be difficult and you don’t have to spend hours DIY-ing crazy Pinterest projects that are doomed to end up as a Pinterest Fail. You can if you want to but you don’t have to. Just sayin’. Label all your foods and wines. Chalkboard everything is super trendy right now and it really is the best way to fancy up your table for a party like this. Put some effort into your presentation and your guests will sing your praises for years to come (or at least for like a day or two).

Have you hosted your own Wine Party? What are your go-to tips for a successful party?