Another Great Party Idea: Dessert and Wine!

My husband and I recently threw our very first wine party and we had such a good time I can't wait to do it again!

Neither of us knows a whole lot about wine and neither do a lot of our friends. So we thought we'd have a Friday night party to learn more about wine, cheese and each other. Here are some great tips and ideas for throwing your own wine and cheese party!

As with every party I host, we picked the date first then compiled our guest list. This was specific to age, as no one under 21 would be invited to join us. Then I created invitations right off of my computer and sent them out to everyone. A great tip for inviting friends is the popular e-vite which you create online than email to your guest list. This will definitely save you money on postage should your list be large. My invitations were wine-themed with a color palette of deep reds and midnight blues. A glass of champagne was featured on the front. I listed all of our contact info and then included a few rules: Ladies were instructed to bring a dessert with them (I am a huge fan of potluck parties!) and the Men were asked to bring a bottle of inexpensive wine. My husband and I provided champagne and Sangria (a wine-based drink). I let everyone know that we would have fruit and cheese to accompany our drinks.

I set our distressed farm-style dining table with white earthenware bowls and platters. We served several cheeses, hard and soft alike: Parmesan, feta, brie, gouda and goatcheese. We also had grapes, green apples and kiwi slices. The whole room smelled fresh and inviting.

Our guests arrived semi-dressy. After all, this was a classy party we were having! We uncorked several bottles of red and white, poured less than half a glass and swirled, smelled, swirled, sipped, swished and swallowed! Some of the wines we enjoyed, some we did not! My husband's homemade Sangria was a hit and so was the chilled champagne!

Everyone had a great time. We learned a bit about what colors and styles of wine we each like (including Japanese saki) and what fruits and cheeses pair well with them. All in all, it was a wonderful, memorable experience!

I would recommend that anyone curious about wine or interested in finding out what you like hold a party. Every bottle was inexpensive (around $10.00) and the company is fantastic. Have fun with it! Decorate your home in the colors of wine, cook with wine, or just do what we did and spend an evening around a few bottles, sharing our thoughts on the taste and catching up with one another. This is a great way to get together with your friends on a night when you want to be in early, or even stay out late!

Wine is a great start to expanding your culinary palette. Every one is different, each taste unique to the place where it's harvested and every tongue interprets the underlying notes differently. Learn something about the wine and yourself!

Happy partying!