Hosting a wine tasting party is a great option for someone who wants to have a get together with friends, but wants to try something different.  Less labor intensive than a dinner party, a wine tasting party is both fun and educational for everyone. Here are six sure fire tips to hosting the perfect wine tasting party.

Step 1: Preparation
Wine tastings work best with small groups, usually eight to twelve people. The supplies you need are a corkscrew, one wineglass per person, a wine charm for each glass, paper and pencil for each person, a plastic cup each guest, room temperate water and/or bread to cleanse the palate between tastings.

Step 2: Wine Selection
Here your choices are wide open, depending on your personal taste. For a simple tasting, select 3 bottles each of white and red wines. Another option is to select a theme for the evening, such as Chardonnay wines in the $10 to $20 price range, Provence wine tasting, cabernet wine tasting or even wines less than $8. Find a theme that is a good match for your group and sample wines based on that theme.

Step 3: Set Up the Tasting
It’s nice to have a table or counter to display the wines for everyone to view. A nice extra touch is to have a note or card which tells a little about the wine: the vineyard, year and perhaps a description from the wine label or a wine review.

Each guest should have a place mat for their wine glass and each wine glass should have a wine charm. This will keep the glasses from getting mixed up.

Everyone will also need a notepad or tasting card to keep write down their thoughts about each wine. And last but not least, everyone will need a plastic cup. Continue reading →