Wine And Chocolate Pairing Party
Similar to the wine and cheese party, for a wine and chocolate pairing party youll need to choose varieties of wine that taste good with different types of chocolate.
I used to think this was a weird conceptwine and chocolate just didnt seem like they would go well together.
Until I actually went to a wine and chocolate tasting, and it was REALLY good. So now its on my list of wine tasting parties I want to host at home!
You can find some wine and chocolate pairing ideas HERE.
Top Four Tips On Hosting A Wine Tasting Party
Contact us!
Do you have any more suggestions or tips on how to host a wine tasting party? Then why not get in touch and let us know your thoughts.
Taste Tally And Share
And finally, get stuck in! Make it your own, enjoy your wines, wax lyrical about their bouquet, tally your scores and crown the winners. Tasting can be academic, but the best thing about wine is drinking it, and a drink at the end of the day right now has never been more welcome.
The drinks trade is resilient and will bounce back in time, but everyone, and particularly the hospitality trade, will need our support more than ever in the months ahead. If you hosted a tasting and enjoyed a wine, let your merchant or producer know! A little positivity can go a long way.
Tag your picture with #dbwinetasting on social media.
You May Like: How Many Carbs Does A Glass Of Wine Have
What Will I Need For My Wine Tasting Party
We have compiled a list of various items you will need for the ultimate wine tasting party:
- Guest invitations send out your invitations in good time so your guests can prepare themselves and bring any food/snacks along to complement the wines. Let your guests know if you are hosting a themed tasting party to contribute to the decorations, food etc.
- Design your own tasting cards or download Winewares Wine Tasting Notes .
- Prepare any appetisers/snacks to accompany and complement your wines.
- A jug of water for cleansing your palate.
- You may need wine accessories throughout the tasting, such as a wine cooler or corkscrew.
- A wine spittoon .
- Bottles of wine .
Keep The Party Intimate & Purchase Accordingly
- Limit the guest count to 10 or fewer. A small, intimate group encourages conversation, and its easy to pour out single bottles into these portions. Once you exceed this guest count, youll have to consider having duplicates of each wine, in order for everyone to obtain a sip.
- How much wine should there be per person? A bottle of wine is about 24 ounces, so you could conceptually pour 12 2-ounce tastes from each bottle. From experience, however, count on guests wanting to re-taste. If youre personally supplying the wine, count on half a bottle per person for a light tasting, but more realistically one bottle per person.
- Start small and pour short tastes for each guest. Provide spit buckets, for those who dont want to get too tipsy.
Don’t Miss: Wine With Lowest Sugar Content
Close With A Sharing Session
After the actual wine tasting is over it can be fun to ask attendees to contribute by sharing their thoughts on the Wines. This could include a Q& A session or an informal get together in the bar or standing area. Attendees can then chat about the event and even share some of the information that they have newly acquired.
Toto Mascalzone is event and marketing manager at Mascalzone restaurant. He is an Italian wine writer and educator, blogger, and food and wine enthusiast currently living in London. He is author of a wine and lifestyle blog, and was a co-editor, together with Italian wine writer a blog devoted to news from the world of Italian wine.
Privacy Overview
How Do You Host A Taste Test
Organizing a tasting party for your friends is one of the most effective and entertaining methods to come in touch with your personal flavor preferences. Its a simple process. Basically, assemble a variety of food or drink productsit might be anything from cheese to honey to apples to balsamic vinegar to tea to ale, it could be anything at alland taste them side by side.
Read Also: What Is The Name Of A Wine Connoisseur
Provide The Right Tools
- Provide plenty of wine glasses to allow for two wines per round, and be prepared with a few additional ones in case of breakages.
- White wines need to be chilled, so ice buckets need to be on hand, along with sufficient refrigerator space.
- Provide pouring buckets for disposing of excess wine after each tasting round.
- Papers and Pens for collecting attendees details and so people can take notes.
- Make sure your guests have access to plenty of water to drink.
Who Brings The Wine
Once youve decided on a location and theme for your wine tasting party, its time to decide who will be providing the wine. While some hosts do this themselves, theres nothing wrong with hosting a potluck-style wine tasting.
If everyone contributes a bottle or two , youll promptly assemble a diverse combination of wines to taste. A typical wine tasting of 6-10 people will have 6-12 wines. Work out the price range of the bottles you want to taste and how many bottles each participant should bring. If you have a trusted wine shop, you can ask them for help with this.
Also Check: Which Wine Has The Least Amount Of Sugar
How Many People Should You Invite
A wine tasting party at home usually works best for smaller groups of 8 to 12 people.
Youll need to buy enough wine for everyone to try some of each one .
And you need enough time to pour a glass for each guest, while still enjoying the party yourself.
So having too many people can make it feel crowded and rushed.
Tips For Planning Your Wine Tasting Party Menu
Some tips for planning your menu:
- If you plan to serve cocktails, avoid serving them before the wine tasting so your guest’s palates aren’t dulled by the drinks.
- If you’re serving a meal, serve it after the wine tasting so your guests aren’t full for the tasting.
- Consider serving an apéritif before the wine tasting.
- Use wine and food pairing charts to determine your menu or appetizers you’ll pair with the wines.
- Consider pairing cheeses with each wine during the tasting.
- Also include in your menu planning palate cleansers such as bread or crackers and still or sparkling water.
- Plan for beverages to serve along with the tasted wines. This can be more bottles of the wines tasted or something else entirely.
Read Also: Wine With Least Amount Of Calories
Keep Your Gathering Small
Well, for one, COVID-19 is still a thing. So be sure to check and abide by CDC guidelines for gatherings. But there are other good reasons for an exclusive guest list: Groups larger than 10 to 12 people tend to split into smaller groups anyway. This rule of thumb works conveniently with the math of splitting a 24-ounce bottle of wine into a dozen or fewer 2-ounce tasting pour portions. A full glass of wine would be expensive and your guests may be staying the night if they donât spit out most of each glass. When doing the math to decide how many people to invite, youâll want to consider these things.
How To Host A Wine Tasting Party
This article was co-authored by Murphy Perng. Murphy Perng is a Wine Consultant and the Founder and Host of Matter of Wine, a business that produces educational wine events, including team-building experiences and networking events. Based in Los Angeles, California, Murphy has collaborated with brands such as Equinox, Buzzfeed, WeWork, and Stage & Table, to name a few. Murphy possesses her WSET Level 3 Advanced Certification. This article has been viewed 228,285 times.
Hosting a wine tasting party is a great way to do something fun, classy, and different with your friends. If the same light beers and bowl of sad pita chips and hummus is getting old, then you should mix things up by hosting a wine tasting party in the comfort of your home. All you need is some supplies, a bit of knowledge, and the willingness to try something new. If you want to know how to host a wine tasting party that’s an even bigger hit than a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, then follow these steps.
Recommended Reading: Price Of A Glass Of Wine
Wine Tasting Party Ideas For A Successful Tasting Event
An intimate party of 6-10 is the most comfortable tasting party size to manage. Anything bigger and things can get a little hard to handle. When you keep the group tight, you have a better chance of socializing, easy conversation, and involving everyone in the activities.
A great tasting will have a few wild-card style facts and surprises, which provide opportunities for everyone to learn even the most experienced of wine drinkers.
The Best Virtual Wine Tastings Of 2022
- Best on Social Media: Wine With Chas
- Best for Sparkling Wines: Chandon
Wine.com is home to an ongoing calendar of free wine tasting events. All you need to do is buy the wine corresponding to your tasting of choice ahead of time, register for the free event via the website, and youll receive instructions and login information for the virtual tasting, which is held webinar-style via Zoom.
And, if something happens to come up and you cant make the live tasting after youve signed up and purchased the wines, dont fret: You can watch the whole tasting afterward on YouTube.
Wine.coms past events have highlighted interesting themes and people, including biodynamic wines with revered French winemakers and sustainability trailblazers Gérard Bertrand and Michel Chapoutier, a Mothers Day weekend special hosted by Lisa Vanderpump and daughter Pandora Vanderpump Sabo , Antinoris World of Wines, rosés with John Legend and wine entrepreneur Jean-Charles Boisset, and even a deep dive into Invivo X, hosted by owner and actress Sarah Jessica Parker. The events page is updated regularly, so check it out to stay in the loop.
Again, the tastings themselves are free, but the cost of the accompanying wines depends on them .
You May Like: Will You Be My Bridesmaid Wine Glasses
Food And Wine Pairing For Your Tasting At Home
Finally, for your perfect wine tasting at home, choose the right wine with the right food! In fact, one of the biggest hosting mistakes is offering tons of wine and not enough food. Paired cheese, charcuterie, honey and chocolate tastings often complement the wine selections well.
Food needs to be fully integrated into your event, not an afterthought if you want to host a perfect wine tasting at home. You should decide if going with passed bites and plates or with a seated meal. If you are good at cooking or have someone who is, you can go for the second one.
The theme of the event and of the wines should correspond with the type of food you are preparing. Many wines are meant to be enjoyed with food and are best paired with the cuisine of their place of origin.
If you have chosen some Spanish wines for your at-home tasting, you can pair it with our excellent Spanish tapas recipes!
How Much Wine Will You Need
Generally, 5 to 8 wines are all that people can taste during one party.
After that, your taste buds cant really tell the difference any more.
Each tasting serving should be about 2 ounces , and each 750 ml bottle of wine contains about 25 ounces.
So you get about 12 tasting servings out of one bottle.
Which is another reason that 8 12 guests works wellyou can get away with buying 1 bottle of each wine. .
Make sure to have plenty of water available so that guests can clear their palates between tastings if they wish to.
Recommended Reading: Vino Sano Grape Brick For Sale
Check Your Wine Supply:
If you have a wine cellar filled with different types of wine from all over the world, skip this tip If you do not, when hosting a wine tasting party you must check your wine supply.
Make sure to have at least one glass of each bottle of wine available for each guest. Although most commercial wine tastings only give you a taste, this event will be in your home so expect heavy pours! A typical wine bottle has 25 fluid ounces of wine which equals about 6 glasses at 4 ounces each.
If you need to purchase wine, head to your Total Wine store. They have a huge selection of wines from all over the world. Ask an employee for assistance in deciding the best brands at the best prices. I also like the Vivino wine app. With the Vivino wine app, simply scan wine labels for detailed information on the wine including reviews and average costs.
How To Throw A Blind Wine Tasting Party At Home
Its a given that entertaining should involve wine. Maybe theres a special bottle that youve planned your menu around, or perhaps some easy-drinking wine to serve as a backdrop for conversation.
But if you want to make wine the guest of honor, why not host a blind tasting? This structured set up allows guests to geek out about whats in their glasses.
Heres how the wine tasting works: Everyone tastes through a flight of mystery wines, one at a time. Guests are encouraged to discuss each wine as they go. If your guests are relatively knowledgeable, they can make educated guesses about the identity of each pour, which can add a competitive element. If its the first blind tasting for most attendees, its fine to keep talk to things like appearance, aroma and structure. At the end of the tasting, reveal the bottles and further the discussion.
The following pages will illustrate how to set up your tasting party, which includes a few bites to savor and flights to serve.
You May Like: Stella Rosa Percentage
How To Host A Wine Tasting Party At Home
I love trying different kinds of wines. And its even more fun with friends. Which is why I decided to learn how to host a wine tasting party at home. Now its something I do fairly often because its so easy to put together for a small group, or even a wine tasting for two.
A wine tasting party is a great way to get together with friends and try out some new wine varieties that you might never drink otherwise.
And the good news isyou dont need to go to a fancy wine bar or be a wine expert to host a wine tasting in your home.
But if you havent been to one before, its hard to know where to start.
So thats where these wine tasting party tips should come in handy.
Our Hosts Earn Sweet Rewards
When you host a free wine tasting party with Traveling Vineyard, we want you to have fun, learn something and of course enjoy great wine. We also want to make sure we treat our Hosts to a little something extra.
Heres the basic structure of our Host and Guest Rewards*:
- Exclusive discounts & wine: Save up to 25% on your Host order
- Free Shipping
- Earn free wine bottles: Receive up to 4 Complimentary Bottles of Wine
- Get 1/2 Price Items, too: Grab up to three 1/2 price accessory items
We also have great specials for your guests, tooincluding drastically discounted accessories and wine!
*Rewards are subject to change.
Recommended Reading: Ounces In 750 Ml
Which Wine To Choose And How Much To Buy
First of all, lets start with the choice of wine! I strongly recommend being the sole buyer of wine for your party rather than leaving it up to your guests. If you go this route, make it clear in your invitation that you will be selecting the wines.
Depending on how many different wine bottles you would like to taste, your wine tasting at home can get a bit expensive. However, you can always ask your guests for contributions to help cover costs otr be the outstanding host who pays for it all.
But how much wine do you need for your online or in-house wine event according to the number of guests? Which are some of the best Red or White wines worth tasting? Dont worry! Just check the list below and discover everything you need to know:
Plan The Accompanying Menu
What kind of food do you serve at a wine tasting party? Youll typically want to provide light finger foods for your guests to snack on, so theyre not drinking on an empty stomach. A cheese board with fruit and meat is always a good option, but you can also put out an array of appscheck out our selection of the best appetizers for a wine tasting.
If you want something more substantial, we put together a wine tasting party menu for you, too!
Don’t Miss: Which White Wine Has The Least Sugar
