How to Throw a Wine Country Party

One terrific idea for a wine country party is to host a wine tasting. There are many ways to do this but one popular way is to do a blind tasting. Gather a number of wines (labels covered), either from the same region (e.g. Chardonnays of different vintages) or a variety of wines from different regions. If you're going the latter route, start by pouring a sparkling wine, followed by whites, then reds and finally a desert wine (you can eliminate some of these choices, but that should be your order of progression). If the wines are all in the same family, start with the young vintages and move on to older ones. You can also reverse the order. Provide guests with paper or cards to write notes on. They can either rate the wines based on taste or try to guess the brand name of the wines.

You might want to spend some time teaching your guests the elements of wine tasting -- how to judge color, clarity or aroma. Or tell them something about the region where the wine was produced. And don't forget to provide water for palate cleansing and a container where guests can throw out their wine if they don't like one they have sampled.

If you’re looking for something more casual, have guests bring bottles that they've covered up with decorations before the party. Have a little competition for the best decorated bottle as well as to select the favorite wine of the night. Just be sure guests note which bottles are which!

You don’t want to fatigue your palate, so select wines that will complement each other, and don’t choose too many for a blind tasting. Consider one bottle of wine per guest (keeping your guest list small). A bottle of wine holds approximately four full servings or eight to twelve "tastings" so plan accordingly. For a larger, more relaxed party, keep the wine flowing as long as you want your guests to stay.

Don't forget to have appropriate glassware. Karyn Howard, wine expert at RayLen Vineyards in Mocksville, N.C., asserts that glassware is extremely important to get the most out of your wine experience. For example, it’s very important to serve a Bordeaux wine in a Bordeaux glass. The size of the opening of the glass determines the wine’s exposure to air, which can affect the aroma and taste of the wine. You can contact your local party rental company for any glassware that you don't already own.

Party favors are definitely not a requirement for wine country parties, but they can be meaningful tokens for your guests to remember your event. The most common wine country party favors are personalized wine glasses, wine charms, wine bottle toppers, totes to carry wine to BYOB restaurants and picture frames. To be fun and creative, craft a party favor using wine corks. Buy an inexpensive picture frame and glue unique wine corks to it to create a wine-themed gift. You could follow up by sending your guests a photo of the group at the party.

Haunt your local wine shops for fun gifts; many times, if you order in bulk, they’ll give you a discount. Or visit your local winery and purchase gift cards that guests can use toward either attending a wine tasting or purchasing some wine.

If you’re not a fan of party favors, focus on thank you notes, especially if you asked your guests to bring something to your party. Sit down the next day and write a quick thank you note on a nice piece of stationery or a wine-themed postcard. If you didn’t ask guests to bring anything, simply thank them for attending the affair. In your note, recall an anecdote about a conversation you had or a favorite wine that you tasted. Your guests will be thrilled to know that their presence was acknowledged and appreciated.

When planning a menu for a wine country party, be sure to choose foods that you know your guests will enjoy and that will complement the wines selected. For a blind tasting, select a nice array of cheeses. Your local organic or health food grocery store will have a wonderful cheese selection, and the staff will often have an excellent knowledge of pairing wines and cheeses.

For a larger party, choose finger foods that will reflect the evening. Fresh fruits, fancy kabobs, cheeses and chocolates are excellent choices for wine country parties. For a dinner party, choose one wine for each course. If you have a menu in mind, ask the expert at your local wine shop (stay away from the big box stores) for optimal pairings. Or select the wines yourself and ask your wine shop expert what foods he would pair with it.

People often get hung up on pairing foods with wine. The most important rule is to drink what you like. If you like sweet wines, then don’t torture yourself with a dry wine you'll dislike. That being said, foods and wines are both enhanced when paired properly. As a general rule of thumb, these wines pair well with the following foods, according to Wine Country Party and Events in Northern California:

The folks at RayLen Vineyards have two rules for hosting a wine party. First, always include at least one bottle of local wine -- support the local industry! Second, don’t take any of this too seriously. Know that you’re going to have hits and misses, but that’s what makes a wine country party so much fun.