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How to Host a Wine-Tasting Party

If wine makes the party, why not make your party all about it?

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By Ad Clever | January 16, 2019 | Diy

Text by Melissa Minton and Kelsey Mirando, AD Clever 

There's the holiday tacky sweater shindig and the Super Bowl watch-party potluck. The houseapartment-warming. The dinner party, where you consider assigning seats solely to save your college roommate from inadvertently sitting by your brother, who she went on that one ill-advised date with. These are all social calendar staples, each a classic for a reason. But in the spirit of a new year, why not try something different? Enter: the wine-tasting party.

The perfect theme to hang your hosting hat on, this vino-focused get-together has something for everyone (it's a tasting, after all!) and you can still work all the party crowd-pleasers into the program (e.g. cheese, chocolate, and snacks of the crunchy and salty variety). Most importantly, you don't have to be a wine connoisseur to host a wine-tasting party. Here's how to pull it off:

1. Do a little homework

The idea here is for everyone to try new-to-them wines, learn something, and have fun—yourself included. When it comes to knowing where to start, we recommend looking to  Bon Appétit wine editor Marissa A. Ross. Snag her book, Wine. All the Time.: The Casual Guide to Confident Drinking, to find everything from the best bottles for your budget to perfecting food pairings. Plus, the fun read is chock-full of tips and tricks for throwing "the best damn dinner party your guests will ever attend."

2. Cover your bases

When party prepping, make sure you'll have enough wine for each of your guests to sample roughly five varietals (a standard tasting pour is half a regular serving). Include both red and white wines in your lineup to ensure a broad spectrum of flavors. To get you started, master sommelier Hillary D'Argenzio recommends Clos du Bois, which tends to average $10 to $15 per bottle. Plan to serve the wines from lightest to darkest. (Red wines work better as an endnote since they're typically heavier and fuller-bodied.) You could curate the whole lineup, or make it easy on yourself and enlist each guest to bring a bottle based on an assigned type of wine or region.

3. Figure out food pairings

Wine is, of course, the guest of honor, with its only close rival being cheese, an equally important food group as far as we're concerned. Check out our guide to building a cheese platter, then hit up your favorite local market. The CliffsNotes: At a minimum, assemble a trio of cheeses—something soft and creamy like brie; a crumbly, sharp variety like cheddar; and a bold option like a veiny blue. Round it out with a mix of sweet, salty, fruity, and sour snacks—such as grapes and dried apricots or cherries, nuts, charcuterie, and olives. Pro tip: Reach for lighter-bodied wines—think a white or a pinot noir—during the cheese course, as they're less likely to overpower the flavour of the cheeses.

4. Get organized

Meet your new best friends: trays and serving boards. Super hardworking, they can be used for beautiful food presentation as well as organization—group wine glasses and bottles for your different tasting rounds on separate trays so no one gets confused

5. Make it seasonal

When styling your spread, take a cue from Hillary and her husband Anthony, founder of design collective Zio & Sons; they used bright, cheery flowers from florist Hops Petunia to set the stage for their summer wine-tasting party. Hosting a wintertime get-together? Simple greenery never fails. Brownie points for incorporating extras like berries, pine cones, or maple leaves!

6. Write it down

To take the pressure off you playing educator, complete your tabletop look with labels for each cheese, snack, and wine varietal. For the wines, make sure to note the name, vineyard, year, flavor profile, and any food pairing suggestions. This way,  everyone can focus on the experience and discuss together in real time. Keep a stack of blank note cards on hand for guests to jot down info on the wines they like best.

7. Win at the party favour game

Hillary and Anthony suggest encouraging guests to bring an extra bottle of wine, their favourite that's under $15 or $20. At the end of the night, announce a bottle swap so each person goes home with a new wine to try. Add your own hostess-with-the-mostest touch by wrapping each bottle in a fun tea towel, like these patterned ones designed by artist Alyson Fox. Ta-da, the perfect party favor that your friends can use to do some entertaining of their own.

Images: Pexels

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