Swirl, Smell & Sip... Helpful Hints

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	Wine Party Ideas

	Anybody can invite some friends over, yank out some random bottles and call the get-together a wine party. Can you say boring? Want to be innovative and remembered for your vino shindig? Try one of these ideas... Blind Tasting Party If you want everyone to put their money where their mouth is and show off their skills, nothing beats the blind taste test, where you pour out five or six different types of wine and have everyone guess what they are. To sweeten the contest, offer up a bottle of wine to the winner. There are different levels of difficulty that you can execute here. For the simplest level, pour out very unique wines that really taste and look different. You can go with the big six for a balanced three reds and three whites. Or, to make things a little more challenging, go with five or six whites or reds. Here's a suggestion: Whites: Riesling (Kabinett), Riesling (Auslese), Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris/Grigio, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer Reds: Beaujolias, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Zinfandel Finally, if you really want to challenge your partygoers, hit them with different types of the same varietal from different regions of the world. For example, can your guests taste the difference between a California Chardonnay from an unoaked Australian Chardonnay and a white Burgundy like a Pouilly-Fuisse? The Smell Test Party This type of party offers guests a tremendous learning experience in addition to a guaranteed great time. The gist of this party is to help everyone improve their ability to smell different aromas in wine and teach drinkers how to appreciate wine even more by learning to discern and identify the components on the nose. In more plain English, you smell a wine, then go to a separate table and smell a bunch of items laid out such as berries, spices, vegetables, etc., trying to see what you smell vs. your friends. So how do you go about throwing this type of wine party? First, figure out the types of wine that you want to feature. To keep the party managable, we recommend choosing to go with either reds or whites. Once you've made that choice, now it's time to identify what you should purchase to smell along side the wines. If you're going with whites, you'll want to look at primarily citrus and tropical fruits for Rieslings and Viogniers, plus items such as vanilla and butterscotch for Chardonnay. You'll also need natural items such as grass if Sauvignon Blanc will be consumed. Our suggested shopping list for whites: lemon, apricot, peach, grapefruit, pineapple, apple, pear, honeydew, vanilla, butter (melted), caramel, honey, butterscotch, orange marmalade, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, grass, rosemary, dill and wet stones (if you're really tasting some ambitious wines). If you're going with reds, you're looking at red fruits such as strawberries, cherries, cranberries and blackberries for wines such as Pinot Noir and Merlot. For darker reds such as Cab and Syrah, you'll need all kinds of interesting items from vegetables to chocolate to tobacco and leather. Our suggested shopping list for reds: green peppers, mushrooms, dirt/earth, chocolate, tree bark, cedar, coffee beans, cinnamon, clove, olives, tobacco, cherry, strawberry, cranberry, raspberry, blackberry, pepper, oak, leather, grape jam, plum, soy sauce and burnt matches (to represent smoke). Oh, and don't forget small, clear plastic cups to put everything in; it'll be much easier for guests to put the cups to their noses vs. having everything on plates. Additionally, you can label each cup with a Sharpie so that everyone can quickly identify what they'll smelling. Once you've done the shopping, the rest is easy. On the night of your party, place all of the items in a rectangle on a table, labeling each. As you pour the wines, have every partygoer smell each wine and then have them to go the table and smell the items in an attempt to find matches. Soon, everyone will be sharing notes and seeing if they're sensing the same aromas. And that's that! The Wine Explorers Party This one's quite simple and doesn't require nearly as much explanation. You just choose a wine producing country or region and have every partygoer bring a wine grown there. This party gives people a chance to experience wines from countries such as Chilé, South Africa and New Zealand or fun regions such as Alsace or upstate New York. You can make the party even more of an exploration by featuring different foods from that country/region or immersing yourself in the culture in any other number of ways. How about wines from Germany with everybody wearing lederhosen?
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Wine Party Ideas