How to Throw a Wine Tasting Party

Determine your guest list and send invites at least two weeks before your tasting.

What you'll need: corkscrew, water, non-transparent cup (for spitting), at least one wine glass per person, tasting cards, pen/pencil; bread or flavorless crackers for palate cleansing; appetizers, cheese or other niblets; and of course, wine!

Consider an overall theme for the tasting. Maybe several different wines all from Napa, for instance. Or one each of the same varietal (grape) from Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, etc. Or try several different varietals -- Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel for reds, or Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Viognier for whites. Or set up a "Italy vs California shootout." The possibilities are endless, but in each case, the idea is to learn something by comparing similar-only-different wines to see if you can pick up consistent differences among them.

Design a tasting card that specifies the type of wine, the producing vineyard, the year and a brief description of the wine (usually found on the wine’s label). Make sure that each guest has their own tasting card to record the wine’s distinct appearance, aroma and flavor.

Traditionally, white wine is served in glasses that are a little smaller than those for red. Smaller glasses keep white wines chilled, while the larger bowls of red-wine glasses give fuller-bodied reds more room to breathe.

Before serving, chill the white wines for 30 minutes to an hour, to a temperature of 45 degrees to 50 degrees; if they're too cold, the taste of the wine will be dulled. Red wine is served at room temperature, but if a house is particularly warm, the wine may need to be chilled slightly. Red wine should be served at a temperature of 50 degrees to 65 degrees (serve lighter wines at the lower end of that range, full-bodied wines at the higher end).

Typically, when tasting wines, you will want to work from dry wines to sweet wines; light to full-bodied; young to aged; and white to red. Have your guests sample each wine by itself, assessing the wine’s unique color, smells and flavors. If pairing with food, note if the pairing worked well. If there are multiple components to the dish, try the wine with each separate component and then all together.

To make your event a bit more challenging, offer a “blind tasting” experience. In this case, you still provide your guests with their individual tasting cards; however, you pour each wine without identifying the label, allowing them to incorporate all of their senses to identify the respective wines based on the labels’ descriptions. The guest that is able to identify the most wines correctly wins a prized bottle of wine or perhaps a book on the art of wine tasting.