Hosting A Wine Tasting PartyAuthor: Leah Ramella
What better way to celebrate the upcoming holiday season and provide your friends with an evening of fun and interesting entertainment than a wine tasting party? A wine tasting party can also be surprisingly affordable given the variety of excellent bargain wines on the market. So pop open some bottles with friends and enjoy a fun, relaxed and entertaining night of wine tasting. Here are a few tips to help you set up the perfect wine tasting gathering in your home:
Select the “theme” of the tasting party – There are a number of wine tasting themes you can follow for your party. For a vertical tasting, select wines from one varietal and one producer that you enjoy, but from various vintages (say Trefethen Chardonnay from 2002, 2004, and 2006). If you would like to host a horizontal tasting, choose a varietal (such as Cabernet Sauvignon) and a vintage year (say 2006). Then select wines by producers from around the world made that varietal and in that year. This is always fun and often results in interesting debates about the wines, particularly when comparing Old World, European wines to some of the New World wines from places like Australia and Chile. Two other great wine tasting party themes are a wine and cheese party or a wine and chocolate party. If you have a great local cheese store or a delicious chocolate shop nearby, ask them to help you put together a selected tray to pair with your wines. A final option is to have a blind tasting of a mix of red and white wines at various price points, and then determine a crowd favorite – the results are often surprising in that it’s not always the priciest wine that wins!
Look for online wine retailers with free shipping – No need to schlep two cases of wine home from the liquor store. There are some great online wine retailers, like MyWinesDirect.com, that sell excellent, affordable wine packs of six and twelve wines, and also offer free shipping. This is an ideal way to shop for your wines from the convenience of your home. As well, the online descriptions about each wine and various customer reviews are always helpful when selecting the wines for your gathering.
Keep decorations simple – You want your guests to focus on the wines, not the fragrant vase of flowers or the scented candles, both of which can distract from tasting the wines. Opt for simple decorations, like a bowl of fruit or grapes, and keep tables and counter spaces open for people to write their wine notes.
Offer simple, palate-cleansing foods and water – Provide crackers and French bread for people to enjoy in between tasting each wine. An elegant tray of cheese and grapes is always a welcome option and often adds to the guests’ enjoyment of the wines. If you are serving dinner, leave the heavier foods until after the wine tasting. Be sure to have a few pitchers of water set on the various tables for people to drink and to clean their glasses in between each wine.
Provide some background on each wine and prepare tasting note cards – Guests will love that you took the extra effort to provide details on each wine and prepare tasting note cards. When describing the wine, include information like geographical origin, varietal, vintage and even where it can be purchased online. On the tasting note cards, categories to fill in should include the wine name, color/intensity, smell/nose, taste, body, and a “Did you like it?” space.
A few closing words of advice. Don’t try to sample more than six different wines in one evening. If you are going to a wine tasting party, offer to bring a wine tasting gift to the host of some selected wines that you think would be great to sample with friends, or ask if you can bring some bread and cheese as refreshments. Finally, when thinking about which wines to taste, consider the time of year. Heavy Cabernets are not as in enjoyable during the humid summer months as they are during winter.
For more advice on hosting a wine tasting party and wine tasting gift ideas, visit MyWinesDirect.com.
Select the “theme” of the tasting party – There are a number of wine tasting themes you can follow for your party. For a vertical tasting, select wines from one varietal and one producer that you enjoy, but from various vintages (say Trefethen Chardonnay from 2002, 2004, and 2006). If you would like to host a horizontal tasting, choose a varietal (such as Cabernet Sauvignon) and a vintage year (say 2006). Then select wines by producers from around the world made that varietal and in that year. This is always fun and often results in interesting debates about the wines, particularly when comparing Old World, European wines to some of the New World wines from places like Australia and Chile. Two other great wine tasting party themes are a wine and cheese party or a wine and chocolate party. If you have a great local cheese store or a delicious chocolate shop nearby, ask them to help you put together a selected tray to pair with your wines. A final option is to have a blind tasting of a mix of red and white wines at various price points, and then determine a crowd favorite – the results are often surprising in that it’s not always the priciest wine that wins!
Look for online wine retailers with free shipping – No need to schlep two cases of wine home from the liquor store. There are some great online wine retailers, like MyWinesDirect.com, that sell excellent, affordable wine packs of six and twelve wines, and also offer free shipping. This is an ideal way to shop for your wines from the convenience of your home. As well, the online descriptions about each wine and various customer reviews are always helpful when selecting the wines for your gathering.
Keep decorations simple – You want your guests to focus on the wines, not the fragrant vase of flowers or the scented candles, both of which can distract from tasting the wines. Opt for simple decorations, like a bowl of fruit or grapes, and keep tables and counter spaces open for people to write their wine notes.
Offer simple, palate-cleansing foods and water – Provide crackers and French bread for people to enjoy in between tasting each wine. An elegant tray of cheese and grapes is always a welcome option and often adds to the guests’ enjoyment of the wines. If you are serving dinner, leave the heavier foods until after the wine tasting. Be sure to have a few pitchers of water set on the various tables for people to drink and to clean their glasses in between each wine.
Provide some background on each wine and prepare tasting note cards – Guests will love that you took the extra effort to provide details on each wine and prepare tasting note cards. When describing the wine, include information like geographical origin, varietal, vintage and even where it can be purchased online. On the tasting note cards, categories to fill in should include the wine name, color/intensity, smell/nose, taste, body, and a “Did you like it?” space.
A few closing words of advice. Don’t try to sample more than six different wines in one evening. If you are going to a wine tasting party, offer to bring a wine tasting gift to the host of some selected wines that you think would be great to sample with friends, or ask if you can bring some bread and cheese as refreshments. Finally, when thinking about which wines to taste, consider the time of year. Heavy Cabernets are not as in enjoyable during the humid summer months as they are during winter.
For more advice on hosting a wine tasting party and wine tasting gift ideas, visit MyWinesDirect.com.
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