How To Throw A Holiday Wine Tasting Party

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SutterHomeForTheHolidays #CollectiveBias The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older.

The Holidays are a very special time. It’s a time of year filled with joy, love and laughter. It’s also a time of the year filled with several parties. I don’t know about you, but sometimes after a Holiday party, especially a large one, I feel like I really didn’t get to spend a lot of time talking and enjoying everyone’s company. This year I wanted to change that, so I decided to throw a Holiday Wine Tasting Party!

Our Wine Tasting Party was small, intimate, and one of the best parties I’ve been to in a long time if I do say so myself!

A Wine Tasting Party doesn’t have to be fancy to be a success. It can be simple, casual, and cozy.

I kept our guest list small- under 10 adult guests. Since this was a casual party, I sent out a quick invite via text message, but you can send out a little card if you like too.

The next step was to purchase the wine I wanted to serve at the party. I found some of my favorite Sutter Home Family Vineyard Wine right our local liquor store. You’ll want a variety of whites, blushes and reds ranging from sweet to dry as well.

Sutter Home Family Vineyards is a family-owned company. For three generations they have sought to produce quality products that bring people together to share good times. They’ve even received over 350 gold metals since 2004!

For 65 years, Sutter Home has provided award-winning California wines at affordable prices which gives new wine users confidence that every single bottle of Sutter Home will always deliver consistent quality and value.

I purchased bottles of Sutter Home White Zinfandel, Sutter Home Chardonnay, Sutter Home Moscato, Sutter Home Pink Moscato, Sutter Home Pinot Grigio, Sutter Home Merlot and Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon.

I even found these adorable small bottles of Pink Moscato that I knew would be perfect for my party favor gift bags! Aren’t they cute?!

Decor was simple because I chose to hold the party in our dining room which was already decorated for the season. With a cozy fireplace and plenty of seating, it was the perfect space in our home to set up.

I wanted to make this room as inviting as possible, so I added a few throw pillows and blankets in sitting chairs and added tiny warm lights around the “bar” (the buffet) area for some ambiance.

Your wine should be the star of the show, but you should also have appetizers available as well.

I set out a tray of savory Italian meats wrapped around fresh Mozzarella (which was a huge hit by the way…) along with cheeses, grapes, several different cracker varieties, and nuts.

Of course there was also a dessert tray with chocolates and shortbread! Yum!

Because your guests may want to cleanse their palette in between tastings, it’s nice to have water available. I filled a large glass dispenser with water and fresh cranberries for a festive touch.

Right before my guests arrived, I chilled the wine, set out the glasses, rustic slate coasters, turned on some Holiday music and made sure I had my wine openers and pours ready.

Everyone found a spot around the table, started mingling and munching on the tasty appetizers!

I started by standing at the end of the table, opening each bottle of wine, then reading a brief description along with the tasting notes (located on the back of the bottle) for each Sutter Home Family Vineyards Wine.

Then I poured the wine into everyone’s glasses, we swirled, smelled and tasted! We had then had a casual an open discussion about each wine and what we liked about it.

I can’t remember the last time I spent an entire afternoon with close friends and family like this! We had some great conversations and really enjoyed every moment.

I didn’t feel frazzled and being able to mingle and relax with my guests made me a great host!

When everyone was ready to leave, I handed out my favor bags filled with wine and chocolates as a thank you! Each guest left with a new favorite wine and it was a wonderful way for us to kick off our Holiday season! I think we may make this party a NEW tradition each year!

If you love wine and are looking for a great way to get together with your close adult family & friends this season with out all of the hassle, throw a Holiday Wine Tasting Party like this one! You’ll be so happy you did! Cheers!