A few months ago we decided
to have a party to celebrate two of our favorite things: wine and cheese! We invited a couple friends over, asked them to
contribute the the spread, and set up several different pairings. Not only was
it a great excuse to gather friends, it was a fun way to hone our wine-tasting
skills and learn more about our preferences! (Spoiler alert: We loved everything!)
Here is our guide to host the perfect wine-tasting party (and eat your weight in delicious cheese):
1. Invite over a group of wine-loving friends (a smaller group of four to eight people works best).
2. Ask each person/couple to bring one bottle of wine and one cheese. (We chose to sample reds and set a price limit of $10 per bottle to keep things simple.)
3. Set out a few other snacks to go with the pairings, like fruit, crackers, nuts or cured meats for guests to nibble on in between tastings.
4. Kick off the party by serving each guest a glass of wine from a mystery bottle when they first arrive. Ask them to try to figure out the varietal while they wait for the pairings to begin.
5. Once everyone has arrived, pour guests a sample of each wine (we had three wine tastings each).
6. Pass one cheese around at a time to sample with each of the wine tastings.
7. Vote on your favorite pairing and discuss with the group. Continue until you have finished all the pairings.
8. Once you’ve sampled all of the wines and cheeses, pour each guest a glass of their favorite wine from the night and enjoy the food and great company.
Here is our guide to host the perfect wine-tasting party (and eat your weight in delicious cheese):
1. Invite over a group of wine-loving friends (a smaller group of four to eight people works best).
2. Ask each person/couple to bring one bottle of wine and one cheese. (We chose to sample reds and set a price limit of $10 per bottle to keep things simple.)
3. Set out a few other snacks to go with the pairings, like fruit, crackers, nuts or cured meats for guests to nibble on in between tastings.
4. Kick off the party by serving each guest a glass of wine from a mystery bottle when they first arrive. Ask them to try to figure out the varietal while they wait for the pairings to begin.
5. Once everyone has arrived, pour guests a sample of each wine (we had three wine tastings each).
6. Pass one cheese around at a time to sample with each of the wine tastings.
7. Vote on your favorite pairing and discuss with the group. Continue until you have finished all the pairings.
8. Once you’ve sampled all of the wines and cheeses, pour each guest a glass of their favorite wine from the night and enjoy the food and great company.
 |
| We set the table with black paper place mats and wrote each guests name in a silver ink. |
 |
| We served crackers, cured meats, fruit, baguette and fig jam with the pairings. |
Here
are the winners of our pairings:
Goat
cheese + Barbera
Manchego
+ Pinot Noir
Asiago
+ Pinot & Barbera (tie)
Brie
+ Barbera (we thought all paired well)
Beer
Cheese + Bordeaux
Let us know if you have hosted a wine tasting party or if you host one based on this post! We’d love to hear about your favorites as well!
- Vicki & Julia
