Casual Wine Tasting Party

A wine tasting is often thought of as a more formal affair.   This lighthearted get-together puts a casual spin on it. To give your wine tasting a more casual feel, use wooden cutting boards and French wire baskets to hold fruit and crackers. Burlap fabric will look perfect used as a tablecloth or a runner. The scent of flowers can interfere with a wine’s bouquet, so it’s better to opt for a fruit centerpiece. A rustic basket of red apples and pears keeps the focus on the aromatic wines and cheeses.

A fun and a very trendy touch now is to add the vintage ceramic and paper roosters.

Use many tea lights and candles to create a festive ambiance. At Renee’s Boutique I have a wonderful line of battery operated unscented candles, you would swear they are real!

Start with a tray of assorted cheeses and palate-cleansing fruits, and then pour on the fun with a selection of wines.  Guests enjoy learning about new wines; so display cards with a wine’s name, region, and flavor (dry, sweet, etc.) in front of the bottle. Encourage guests to experiment with different flavors by recommending cheeses that enhance each wine’s bouquet. The following is a suggested wine list from Windsor Oaks Vineyards and the following are cheeses recommend by  Bellweather Farms.

Classical background music or a soft jazz works best. Select instrumentals from the same region as your wines. Lower the volume to facilitate lively discussions about each wine’s merits. A nice party favor is to provide a Wine Journal. My favorite is called Life is Wine by Graham Harding. Your guests will have fun writing their comments for each wine, especially as the evening progresses!

Enjoy!

Renee