How to Host a Wine Tasting Party

Wine isn’t just for snobs or sophisticates, as it was in days past. Wine can be enjoyed by the Queen or your “Average Joe.” The trick to enjoying wine is knowing what you like, and the best way to find out what you enjoy is to sample as many wines as possible. So perk up your palette and invite some friends over to enjoy savory flavors from around the world, by hosting a wine tasting party. Wine is complex, and can be overwhelming at first, make sure you don’t take it too seriously. Have fun, and remember, In Vino Veritas- “In Wine is Truth.”

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wine
• Wine glasses
• Wine bottle opener
• Decanter- (optional)
• “Spit bucket”-(optional)
• Complimenting foods: olives, cheese, mushrooms, & fruit.

1. Invite 12-20 of your closest friends to attend your wine party. For those who are thinking this is too many people, you need to get out more. And for those who are thinking this isn’t enough people, trust me, you’ll be happy by the end of the night you didn’t have 50. Wine parties are an ideal setting for more intimate conversations and it isn’t your typical frat party setting. In hosting wine parties, more is not always merrier.

2. Ask each confirmed guest (or couple of two attending) to bring one to two bottles of wine. Note: This detail is dependant on how much alcohol your friends can handle, and whether you have designated drivers or enough guest rooms in your house to accommodate your guests.

3. Make sure you set a price limit per bottle. A decent bottle of wine shouldn’t cost more than ten to fifteen dollars. Sure you can spend a fortune on one bottle, but sometimes the best wine finds are under ten dollars. Note: My personal favorite go to wine costs only eight dollars, and it’s always a favorite at parties.

4. Ask your guests to bring different “varietals.” Varietals is a fancy term for each specific grape variety. If you’ve heard of Merlot, then you are familiar with varietals. Note: There are so many interesting and complex varietals, so encourage your guests to step away from buying “Chardonnay” and “Merlot”, and try more unique varietals like “Muscat” or “Sangiovese.”

5. As the host plan on purchasing at least two to three bottles of wine. It happens, but sometimes guests forget to bring what they were assigned. You might want to purchase one bottle of Champagne or a sweet dessert wine or Port to enjoy at the end of the evening. Sort of a sweet taste to cap off the night!

6. The night of the party set the ambience: light some candles, put on some “lounge” style music lightly in the background. Note: If you don’t like my music pick, go with Sinatra, I’ve never met anyone who didn’t enjoy Frank, and trust me Frank goes great with wine.

7. Arrange the accompanying foods near where your guests will be sampling the wines. Place the cheese on a cheese board with a variety of crackers and fresh breads. Put the olives in a bowl with the fresh sliced apples and grapes at arms reach. Note: Wine can hit you quick, especially on an empty stomach, so make sure your guests have some substance. You want your party to be a fond memory.

8. This isn’t mandatory, but a nice touch is to put out a decanter or two (one for the red wines and one for the whites). Decanters allow the wine to “breathe”, once the bottle is open. You can also place a “spit bucket” out, if your guests would literally prefer to taste vs. swallow. Note: Your guests do not have to actually spit, instead once they have a good taste for the wine they are sampling, and are ready to move on to another choice, they can pour the rest of the wine in the spit bucket and rinse their glasses out with a small amount of water.

9. Sit back, enjoy the ambience, sip some vino, immerse yourself in conversation and laughter- all of which will prove to make some lasting memories.

Tips & Warnings

• Please be a responsible host/hostess, and ensure your guests aren't drinking and driving.
• Host your wine tasting party at a later hour- preferably after your guests have had dinner. This way your guests will be able to enjoy the wine more and won't become immediately intoxicated. It's fun to keep some delicious snacks at arms length throughout the party, but don't try to be responsible for a sit down dinner too.

[NataleeKW]

on 2/5/2008 I was with you until the end....white wines do not need to be decanted. So unless you are just "showing" the wine in a decanter it is absolutely unnecessary to put the whites in a decanter. Other than that...I think that you are right on track.

[BlondieWriter84]

on 11/1/2007 I was a little scared to host a wine party because I had never done so before, but this article has many interesting ideas. I think I will host a party in the near future.

[davidscott]

on 10/31/2007 Forgot the rating!

[davidscott]

on 10/31/2007 I think this article would be a good starting point for someone just starting out with wine. I'd like to see some suggestions on what order the wines should be served and suggestions for other pairing options - can you help me out?