Have a Wine Tasting Home Party

Parties and wine tastings don't have to be complicated or expensive to be fun. Blind tasting is easy to present and a fun way to accurately represent the wine's merits, not the label's impact. There are several factors to determine and included on the invitations once you have determined the type of wine party you are throwing. Consider the prospective invitees; are they wine buffs or casual drinkers, do they have children that need be occupied with games or is this an adult only party. Decide the type of party and then begin the preparations.

Buying wine for a party

When planning a tasting party, the host may want a "themed" party and stick with one type of wine, such as Virginia Chardonnays, or possibly a selection of wines from one winery. Using only red or only white wines might affect guest enjoyment, but the final selection and budget is the host's choice.

Hosting a wine party doesn't mean that you have to know everything about wines. Local wine shops have staff that can assist in selecting wines. Large discount stores such as Sam's Club, Costco, and Total Wine offer a large selection at reasonable prices but don't offer much help selecting wines. The host might want to consider one local winery's wines, which might be a little more costly, but ask for a case discount.

Determining the amount of wine to buy is different depending on whether you are doing a tasting or just a wine party. For party purposes, the host can plan on each bottle of wine filling four wine glasses. However, a bottle will serve eight people for a tasting party using small pours. A smaller amount of invitees is also better for a wine-tasting party.

Easy food and wine pairing

Be creative but consider the wines that are being tasted. Spicy, bolder wines can handle bolder food tastes; neither the food nor wine should compete for your attention but create complimentary tastes.

Enjoy the party! Since foods can influence the taste of the wine, for a tasting, traditional foods should be held until after the tasting. However, plain crackers, chocolates, nuts, and even dry toast wedges can be used to either cleanse the palate between wines or change the taste of the wine.