~ Wine & Chocolate

~ German White Wines

~ Italian Red Wines

~ Local Wineries

~ Wines Under $20

~ Sparkling Wines

~ Wine & Cheese Pairings

~ California Wines

~ Australian Wines

~ Sweet Wines

~ Wine & Food Pairings

~ Wine & Dessert

~ Wines Under $10

~ Berry Wines

~ Wines in Interesting Bottles

1.   Before mailing invitations, decide what sort of wine you want at the tasting.  Will you be providing the wine, or will you ask the guests to bring something?  It can be fun for guests to participate by bringing a bottle, but you can get a wide variety.  You can focus the tasting to only Reds or Whites, or all Italian or German wine.  Or just let people bring their favorite bottle under $20 and have a prize for whichever wine is voted the best.

2.   For a party of 6-10 people, it usually takes about 2 hours for each guest to complete the tasting (or assume 10-15 minutes per bottle).  You should have 8-10 bottles for tasting (any more than that and you're likely to be rolling people out the door later).

3.  If you are tasting Whites and Reds, try all the Whites first, them move to the Reds.  Allow at least 30 minutes between sets to "reset" your pallet for best results.

4.  If guests are bringing white Wines, remember to ask them to bring it chilled as it will improve the flavor and save time.  And if you are inviting couples - make sure to indicate if they should bring one bottle or two!

5.   Be sure to have some sparkling cider or other non-alcoholic beverages available for designated drivers, or allow for enough time at the end of the party for everyone to relax with a cup of coffee before going home.

6.   have a small buffet of bread and cheese so guests can cleanse their pallets between tastings (you shouldn't taste wine on an empty stomach!).  Fruits and chocolates also pair well with wine.

7.   Use Wine Glass Charms so guests can tell their drinks apart!  These also make nice party favors.

8.   Have a pitcher of fresh water and an discard bucket so guests can rinse glasses between wines - also to discard unwated wine.

9.   You can have a blind tasting by hiding the identity of each bottle of wine.  Just put the bottles into Wine Bags (or brown paper bags) and label them with numbers to tell them apart.  After voting you can reveal what people liked the most.

10.   If you don't want to do a blind tasting, then encourage each guest who brought a bottle to introduce it and explain why they brought it.
11.   When serving wine keep in mind how much each person will be trying and keep it reasonable.  Start people out with under a quarter glass for each wine, then if there is left over, people can go back and refill with the ones they liked the best.

12.   Go around the room after each wine and encourage people to comment what they like/dislike about each wine - this makes especially good conversation and helps everyone participate.  They can talk about the flavors they taste, etc.

13.   Have a wine tasting book or invite a sommalier to attend to answer questions that may come up during the evening - like what is the difference between a merlot and a shiraz?

14.   Collect voting cards after each set of wines, this will allow guests to try a set of wines and adjust their scores accordingly to rate the ones they liked best/worst, etc.

15.   Make sure to write down the name and descriptions of each wine and who brought what.  After the party you can type it up and send it out to the guests as a thank you.  This way everyone can remember the wines for future occasions!