Through the years, my mother has developed a deep appreciation for wine and cheese. This appreciation, along with many trips to Whole Foods to buy cheese, is what inspired her to have a wine tasting party in May 2010. As her partner in crime at these events, I assisted my mother in making her wine tasting party dream a reality.
About a month before the scheduled fete, my mother and I sat down and hashed out the details of the party. First, we devised a guest list of 10-12 people. The list had to be kept small in order to fit everyone into our dining room area. Then, we wrote down additional details to ensure the party would be a success. Since we are both list girls, we had lists for every aspect of the party.
Creating the menu was fairly easy. Especially, when it came to the wine and cheese part of the menu. Since my mother had kept a list of her favorite wines and cheeses over the years, it was simply a matter of choosing a select few pairings for the party. We added a few additional items like crackers, hors d’oeuvres, a light salad, and dessert in order to round out the menu.
After finishing the menu, we had to figure out how to set up the decor and tables. We chose to use the colors yellow and white because they represented Spring and were light and fresh. Fortunately, my mother always bought nice wine glasses, silverware and white bowls, plates, and cups over the years. So we didn’t have to make too many additional purchases to create our table settings. We just needed to purchase a few more wine glasses, yellow plates, and accents in order to make the tables look complete.
The night before the party, the entire family pitched in to clean up the dining room and kitchen areas. We also set up the tables and chairs in order to make sure we had enough space for our guests. Unfortunately, our small guest list had grown to almost 18 people because my mom told too many of her friends about the party and they all wanted to come. So we had to purchase some additional items to accommodate our larger guest list.
The day of the party we set up the tables and fixed the food in time for the event to start. We also provided our guests with party brochures which included information on each type of wine being tasted that evening and the ins and outs of how to properly taste wine. My mother played hostess and conducted the wine tasting while I manned the kitchen.
Needless to say, our wine tasting party was a monumental success. Our guests absolutely loved the idea of attending a wine party and encouraged us to have another one in the near future. Even though my mom and I were tired by the end of the night, we had a great time and were happy that our guests enjoyed themselves too.
So if you ever want to try a unique party idea, a wine tasting party is definitely a good option to explore.
