A party is a great way to get together with friends and family and to learn about wines and taste different wines. To begin planning your party you must first determine how many people will be attending your party and what type of tasting you would like to host. Once the guest list is determined you must send out invitations at least two weeks in advance.

To make things easier you could just purchase a kit which would include all the necessary things for a party including pre-made invitations. If you prefer doing everything yourself you can make your own tasting cards that have the type of wine on it, the vineyard, the year and a description of the wine.

Make a card for each guest so that each can make note of the characteristics of the wine. If you would like to have your guests do what is called a “blind tasting,” then all you do is instead of writing the information on the card have the guest write down what wine they think it is with the year, vineyard, etc.

For your decorations first, you want to keep the room well lit. You can go as simple as just a plain table cloth or you could get creative and decorate with vintage things. When tasting wines you don’t want to pour a full glass of wine. You want to pour no more than about



two ounces of wine per glass and per wine for each person.

To clear your palate between wine tasting, you want to provide plain crackers or bread so that each wine can be experienced to the fullest. Other supplies needed are wine glasses. Each guest should have one to two glasses. Water for rinsing glasses and some sort of bowl or bucket for discarding wine after each testing.

Appetizers such as cheese, fruit or some other light treat is something that can be served either before or after the party. The temperature of all the wines being served should be room temperature to get the best flavor out of the wine. The final thing necessary for a party is laughter and a good time had by everyone.

Here's a list of items you will need for your party:

1) Four to six different wines
2) Appetizers
3) Crackers or Breads to clean the palate between wines
4) Wine Glasses-one to two per guest
5) Pitcher of Water-for rinsing of the glasses and palates between wine tastings
6) Dump Bucket-for discarding wines
7) Bottle Covers-normally included when you purchase kits however you can
use brown bags or aluminum foil
8) Tasting Cards-for your guests to record their wine tastings
9) Pen and Paper
10) Fun and Humor