Wine Ever: Tasting

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Wine Tasting Appetizer Ideas

So you want to host a wine tasting party? And you want your event to be as fun and educational as possible, right? Well as much as some people like to focus just on wine alone, food and wine are a match made in heaven. Besides, when people start drinking wine and the fun discussion begins, people tend to get hungry. So even if you are not hosting a full wine dinner party, your wine tasting will be much more of a success if you have fun and delicious foods available for your guests to snack on. While simple crackers and/or bread may be enough just to cleanse your palate between flights of wines, even a small selection of more interesting wine tasting appetizers can really bring your humble event to a whole new level.

Tip 1: Try to pair your wine tasting appetizers to the theme of the wine tasting. In other words, don't pair heavy sausage stuffed mushrooms if you and your guests are tasting light, delicate white wines. Try to pair the food to the wine theme. If you are tasting several types of wine, then provide a selection of appetizers.

Wine

Tip 2: Don't get too formal. Unless you love to cook, try not to overwhelm yourself with complicated foods. Start with simple snacks that are easy to prepare or take no preparation. If you are not serving a full dinner, then try to keep it simple. Put out several plates of finger foods and encourage guests to help themselves.

Wine Tasting Appetizer Ideas

Some specific wine tasting appetizer ideas: Below is a list of some classic finger food appetizers which are perfect for a wine tasting event. They are generally easy to prepare and can be simply placed on the table for guests to help themselves. They are also pretty versatile, pairing well with many types of wine. Beyond these, get creative. There are no rules so if you have a favorite appetizer that you like to make, throw that out for your guests to enjoy as well. The only tip I have about choosing dishes is to avoid very spicy foods or odd, pungent flavors which may clash with many wines. The ideas below start with the most simple and easy to prepare and continue through some more involved appetizers that require a small amount of preparation.

Bread and/or Crackers: Sliced bread, such as a French Baguette or Batard, and/or simple crackers are a great basic food to have available at every wine tasting. Besides being necessary to serve some soft cheeses or other spreads, they are filling and a good neutral snack to cleanse your palate between wines.
Cured Olives: Most fine supermarkets now carry excellent selections of cured olives. These are extremely easy. Simply serve them in some bowl or dish and be sure to supply an empty bowl for discarded pits. There are several varieties to choose from. Try to avoid very spicy or salty ones as these can interfere with the tasting of wine.
Nuts and Dried Fruit: It is very common to see a selection of dried nuts and/or dried fruit slices as wine tasting appetizers, served alone or alongside olives or a cheese plate. In fact, many nuts accompany cheeses beautifully and are neutral flavored enough to accompany many wines. Spanish Marcona almonds and walnuts are great choices, as are dried apricot slices. Try to avoid very sweet fruits, particularly if you are drinking dry table wines.
Cheese Plate: Cheese and wine can be absolutely delicious. You can provide a selection of fine cheeses on a cheese plate, accompanied by knives or forks for firm cheeses and a spreading knife and bread for softer cheeses. Try to pair the cheese with the types of wines you are serving. If you can, find cheeses from the same regions as the wines. Short of that, try to choose more mild flavored cheeses with lighter wines and richer, more pungent cheeses with more full-flavored wines. While very rich, pungent or stinky cheeses can be delicious with rich wines, their strong aroma may detract from being able to appreciate the subtleties of the wines at the tasting.
Sliced Cured Sausages and Meats: Dried sausages and other charcuterie can be another easy and delicious accompaniment to a wine tasting. There are dozens to choose from. French saucisson sec, Italian salami, Pâté, terrines, Prosciutto, and many others are all delicious, easy to serve and a fine appetizer to accompany a wine tasting.
Bruschetta: Bruschetta is a simple Italian finger food appetizer usually consisting of slices of toasted bread topped with various chopped accompaniments such as tomatoes, shallots, cheese, garlic, and/or olive oil. There are many variations but most recipes are quite simple and quick to make. To make it a bit richer to accompany heavier red wines, add sautéed mushrooms or meats such as Prosciutto or bacon to kick up the flavor a notch.
Tapenade: Tapenade is a puréed olive dish usually consisting of olives, herbs, anchovies, garlic and olive oil. Because it is made by blending the ingredients in a food processor, this spread is quite easy and quick. It's also delicious! Make a big batch and serve in a big serving bowl along with bread or crackers to spread it on.

Wine Tasting Appetizer Ideas

Josh Dusick is the editor of the Wine Tastings Guide at http://www.wine-tastings-guide.com where you can get information about how to host a wine tasting party, how to serve and taste wine and even about pairing wine and food.

Top 10 Appetizers For Wine Tasting Parties

Wine tasting parties are perfect for getting together either formally or informally with friends. Everyone can relax, taste a few fine wines, and snack on some delicious snacks. Wine tasting parties take a lot less work to organize than a dinner party, and they can also be very elegant.

Planning your party is still important. Pick a theme. Perhaps you will serve wines from one region only, or from places that are not generally recognized as winery country. Maybe it would be interesting to try wines made from fruit other than grapes, or try an international night where you feature wines from France, Italy, or Australia.

Wines

Once you have decided on the wines you want to serve, pair them up with appropriate appetizers. Lighter, white wines need light food to accompany them like tapenade or shrimp, while you can couple full-bodied red wines with substantial offerings like meats or even chili. If you are choosing dessert wines, you need to decide if you prefer to serve a sweet dessert appetizer with them or something savory to cut the sweetness.

It seems that the simplest, freshest foods bring out the best in wine, which is why bread, cheese, and fruit top the list of appetizers served at wine parties. Combinations of these foods can be used to create more appetizers, like tomato and herb bruschetta or baked brie and bread cubes.

When you are setting up for your wine tasting party, be sure to have plenty of fresh water on hand. Your guests may want to cleanse their palate between tastings, and the water will help everyone stay hydrated. You may also want to keep a receptacle available in case someone only wants to savor and then spit out the wine. Swallowing too many different types of wine can cloud their judgment when tasting other varieties or they may not like one that they try.

Keep some bland appetizers available for the actual tasting portion of your party. This will also help remove the flavors of the previous wine from your guests' palates. Once the initial tasting is all done, bring out the good appetizers and let everyone enjoy them with their favorite wines of the evening.

It can be a lot of fun to let your guests rate the wines you have chosen for the evening, giving them ratings and descriptions for what they did and did not like. Do not worry about them rating the appetizers, though; they will be a sure hit during the evening.

Make sure that there is a designated driver or that your guests can get home safely if they have imbibed a bit too much. This is another good reason to provide plenty of snacks. If they are busy eating, they will enjoy the wine but not drink too much.

Top 10 Appetizers

Bruschetta
Cheese and Crackers
Seasonal Fruit
Bread with Olive Oil and Herbs
Tapenade
Chocolates
Smoked Salmon Points
Baked Brie
Shrimp Puffs
Shrimp Ring

Top 10 Appetizers For Wine Tasting Parties

Make some easy party appetizers for your next shindig. Easy appetizer recipes do not stress you out, they taste delicious, and you can take the time to enjoy your party instead of working in the kitchen!

EasyAppetizerRecipes.net - You Make the Appetizers, We Help You Make Them Delicious

Wine Tasting Parties: 4 Easy Steps to Hosting a Great Wine Tasting Party

Thomas Jefferson said, “Good wine is a necessity of life for me”. No wonder he was one of our founding fathers!

More and more people are drinking wine these days and why not? It’s readily acknowledged by the medical community that drinking red wine in moderation has a myriad of health benefits including lowering your risk of contracting heart disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer and cataracts. I don’t know about you, but for me, that’s a good enough reason to enjoy a glass or two every night. In addition, it’s a nice way to relax after a rough day and getting together with friends over a glass of wine is a great venue for socializing and having fun.

Wines

One way to do this is by hosting a wine tasting party. Besides being a lot of fun, this is an excellent approach for learning about wine and maybe finding a few new wines you really enjoy. Below are some guidelines that will help you organize a wine tasting that’s sure to be a hit.

Inviting your guests- The first thing you need to consider when organizing a wine-tasting party is how many people to invite. Generally speaking, 8 to 12 is considered the optimum number of guests. This size group is large enough to promote spontaneous interaction and small enough to be easily manageable. Whether you telephone, email, or sent written invitations is a personal choice. I happen to prefer sending email invitations. American Greetings has a great card site that includes “eInvites”. It’s a wonderful service where you can send invitations and your guests can simply click a button to RSVP. You can even schedule follow-up reminders. The American greeting site has a .00 yearly membership fee, but for all the ecards and services, I think it’s worth it.
Choosing the wine- In my opinion, choosing the wine to taste at your party is the best part of the planning stage. But then, I happen to get mesmerized every time I walk into a large wine store. There’s so much to choose from. There are many different ways you can handle wine selection. One option is to consider a themed party. For example: “California Chardonnays”, “German Rieslings”, “Wines Under .00”, or “Italian Reds”. The possibilities here are endless, so don’t be afraid to be creative. Another option might be to choose wines from a particular winery or even to select different vintages (years) of the exact same wine. Selecting different vintages of the same wine is called a vertical tasting and this may be more costly to do since older vintages tend to carry a higher price tag. When buying the wine for your party, keep in mind that for tasting purposes, each pour should be about two ounces. This means that for eight people or less, one 750 ml bottle should be enough.
The question of food- No party would be complete without food. However, depending on your goal for the event, you may want to wait until after tasting the wine to serve food because food affects the taste of wine and visa-versa. If your goal is to have an informal gathering of friends and experience new wines with good food, by all means serve food paired with the various wines. In fact, an easy and fun way to have a wine tasting party is to ask your guests to bring the various courses (appetizers, soup, salad, dessert) along with a paired wine while you provide the main course and wine. If your primary goal is tasting and judging new wine, it is more appropriate to wait until after the tasting to serve the food. Instead, during the tasting, provide only unflavored crackers (saltines) or bread to cleanse the palette between wines.
Tasting and rating the wine- Remember to limit your pours to two ounces (visually, two ounces is about two inches in a normal size wine glass). Place pitchers of water out for your guests to rinse their glasses or cleanse the palate between tastings. Also, have buckets available for those who choose to spit out the wine instead of swallowing it. Spitting is not necessarily an indication of not liking the wine. Many wine tasters spit so they will not be affected by alcohol consumption. Especially if the tasting is to be followed by socializing and drinking wine. One suggestion for tasting and rating the wine is to simply hand out paper and pens to each of the guests as they arrive so they are able to make notes on each wine tasted. To make this process more structured and organized, you can download and print wine tasting forms from the internet. Clicking on the following link will take you to Wine-Reviewer where you may download a wine tasting review form. Wine reviews [http://www.wine-reviewer.com/hosting-a-wine-tasting-party.htm] You may reduce the chance of ratings being influenced by personal preference or prejudice by having a “blind tasting”. To do this, completely wrap each of the bottles with aluminum foil and label it with a number. The wine will then be identified and judged by the number on the bottle. To make the evening a bit more interesting and educational, research the wine, winery and wine-making region. Your guests will probably find the information interesting and will appreciate your effort.

Using these guidelines, having a wine-tasting party is as easy as 1-2-3-4. Have fun, but please remember to drink responsibly and do not let others drink and drive. If possible, have someone be a designated driver to insure that everyone gets home safely.

Wine Tasting Parties: 4 Easy Steps to Hosting a Great Wine Tasting Party

Marcia Parks is a successful free-lance author,wine-reviewer and web publisher. Her current project involves traveling the United States to visit and review wineries. You may read more of her detailed wine reviews at http://www.wine-reviewer.com.

Wine Tasting Appetizer Ideas

Wine

Bread and/or Crackers: Sliced bread, such as a French Baguette or Batard, and/or simple crackers are a great basic food to have available at every wine tasting. Besides being necessary to serve some soft cheeses or other spreads, they are filling and a good neutral snack to cleanse your palate between wines.
Cured Olives: Most fine supermarkets now carry excellent selections of cured olives. These are extremely easy. Simply serve them in some bowl or dish and be sure to supply an empty bowl for discarded pits. There are several varieties to choose from. Try to avoid very spicy or salty ones as these can interfere with the tasting of wine.
Nuts and Dried Fruit: It is very common to see a selection of dried nuts and/or dried fruit slices as wine tasting appetizers, served alone or alongside olives or a cheese plate. In fact, many nuts accompany cheeses beautifully and are neutral flavored enough to accompany many wines. Spanish Marcona almonds and walnuts are great choices, as are dried apricot slices. Try to avoid very sweet fruits, particularly if you are drinking dry table wines.
Cheese Plate: Cheese and wine can be absolutely delicious. You can provide a selection of fine cheeses on a cheese plate, accompanied by knives or forks for firm cheeses and a spreading knife and bread for softer cheeses. Try to pair the cheese with the types of wines you are serving. If you can, find cheeses from the same regions as the wines. Short of that, try to choose more mild flavored cheeses with lighter wines and richer, more pungent cheeses with more full-flavored wines. While very rich, pungent or stinky cheeses can be delicious with rich wines, their strong aroma may detract from being able to appreciate the subtleties of the wines at the tasting.
Sliced Cured Sausages and Meats: Dried sausages and other charcuterie can be another easy and delicious accompaniment to a wine tasting. There are dozens to choose from. French saucisson sec, Italian salami, Pâté, terrines, Prosciutto, and many others are all delicious, easy to serve and a fine appetizer to accompany a wine tasting.
Bruschetta: Bruschetta is a simple Italian finger food appetizer usually consisting of slices of toasted bread topped with various chopped accompaniments such as tomatoes, shallots, cheese, garlic, and/or olive oil. There are many variations but most recipes are quite simple and quick to make. To make it a bit richer to accompany heavier red wines, add sautéed mushrooms or meats such as Prosciutto or bacon to kick up the flavor a notch.
Tapenade: Tapenade is a puréed olive dish usually consisting of olives, herbs, anchovies, garlic and olive oil. Because it is made by blending the ingredients in a food processor, this spread is quite easy and quick. It's also delicious! Make a big batch and serve in a big serving bowl along with bread or crackers to spread it on.

Wine Tasting Appetizer Ideas

Wine Tasting Party

Hosting a wine tasting party is an elegant and delightful way to spend an evening with a few of your closest friends. It's up to you as far as choosing what wines to serve. There are white wines, red wines and sparkling wines.

Entice your guest's taste buds by going from lighter wines to fuller-bodied wines so as to not overwhelm the palate. Sparkling wines awaken the taste buds and are a great way to start the party off. Stock up on wine glasses with a large bowl shape. Serving red wine in bowl-shaped glasses helps to enhance the aroma and flavor of the wine. White wine is traditionally served in smaller, slightly curved glasses. This helps to hold the chill and emphasize the wine's flavor and aroma. Bread or unsalted crackers served in between each wine helps to cleanse the palate. Fruit and cheese help to bring out the flavor, giving the guests the full experience of each wine. As each wine choice is poured, ask the guests to swirl the wine around on the inside edge of the glass.

Wine

As the wine comes into contact with the air it helps release the delicate and full flavors of the wine. Allow the guests to smell the bouquet and aroma of each wine; the smell of the wine adds to the taste. Guests can then sip the wine and swirl it around in their mouths to appreciate the full flavor. Guests have an option to discretely spit the wine out in a receptacle or to swallow.

Provide receptacles around the party so guests have the option. Then, each guest should eat a bit of food and sample the wine again. They may change the opinions that they formed from the initial taste. As a nice twist, ask guests to each bring a bottle of their favorite wine for everyone to sample.

Wine Tasting Party

Mrs. Party... Gail Leino is the internet's leading authority on selecting the best possible party supplies, using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. Free Party Games to help complete your event.