Things You'll Need:
- Wine glasses
- Wine bottle opener
- Fruit
- Bread
- Cheese
- Crackers
- Pencils
- Bottled water
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Step 1
Select your guest list. Based on the number of people, decide on the number of bottles of wine you should purchase or request be brought by each guest. One bottle per person or two bottles per couple is sufficient. Remember, the average bottle of wine will fill four glasses.
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Step 2
Mail invitations. Invitations should be mailed two weeks in advance of the tasting party. Request on the invitation card what type of wine they should bring. Balancing the number of reds versus whites will avoid a wine free-for-all.
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Step 3
Decorate using a theme. Decorations can be minimal, but you can set the mood with old, vintage wine bottles, Tuscan-themed napkins or an old world theme with candles.
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Step 4
Provide your guests with food. Mild cheeses, bread, crackers and fruit are great to sample during the tasting and can bring out the flavors in wine. Have room temperature bottled water available to rinse the palate between tastings.
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Step 5
Prepare a wine tasting card for each guest. If you've decided to cover the wine bottles and labels for a blind tasting, number the wines on the cover and card. You want your guests to write down their impression of each wine as they taste. Reveal the labels at the end of the evening.
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Step 6
Provide each guest with a wine glass 12 oz. in size or larger. Also provide a place to rinse glasses between wines.
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Step 7
Wine tasters need wine buckets for spitting - yes, spitting. Some of your guests will want to spit the wine after tasting since there will be so much to sample.
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Step 8
Conclude the evening with coffee and dessert. A nice cheesecake is a great option for dessert at a wine tasting event.
