Entertaining

Host a Wine Tasting!

I always look forward to the annual Spring Town Point Virginia Wine Festival, but unfortunately, this joyous occasion only comes once a year. Tastings are a great place to get together with friends and enhance your knowledge of wine, but a trip to a vineyard can be expensive and a weekend long endeavor. Beat the cost of a fancy winery, and host your own wine tasting!

For this type of event, a guest list composed of couples will work best. Ask each couple to purchase a “value wine,” priced around $15, and a corresponding “splurging wine,” priced between $40 and $50. Once your guests arrive with their decanter duo, place each bottle in a brown paper bag, label it with a letter or number, and seal it with a ribbon. Before you start planning your wine tasting, you must first choose exactly what kind of tasting you will host. There are several versions of tastings, such as: a horizontal or vertical tasting, a wine and cheese or wine and chocolate pairing, and an old world vs. new world wine tasting, but my personal favorite is a “blind” wine tasting.

Set up stations around your house for each wine pair. Consider utilizing two rooms, such as the kitchen and living room, in order to separate the whites from the reds. In the “white room” organize the wines from dry to sweet, and in the “red room,” start with light progressing to full-bodied red wines. At each station, accompany the bagged bottles with a pitcher of water and a basket of bread so your guests can cleanse their palate between wines.

Before the tasting begins, provide each guest with a tasting card. Encourage your guests to make notes of the aroma, color, and taste of each wine, ultimately identifying the value versus the splurge.

Add to the ambiance of the evening with white linen tableclothes and dim lighting accompanied by candle light. Provide simple hors d’oeuvres that pair nicely with wine; hummus, chocolate, and cheese are sure to be a hit. Popular wine pairing cheeses include: brie, cheddar, Camembert, blue cheese, and gouda.

Once the tasting has concluded, continue the wine themed festivities with wine trivia! Websites, such as Uncork, feature tons of questions and answers that you can use to create your own wine-o wager. At the games end, award the winning wine-o with a prized bottle of wine.

The finale of you tasting: the unveiling of the value versus the splurge. Reveal each covered bottle to your guests highlighting the name and type, the producing vineyard, and the year. The contrasting bottle prices will surely create some conversation, and you may discover your new favorite bottle!

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