5 Tips for Planning a Wine Party

Create a fantastically entertaining night, one in which your imbibing guests can take away some valuable information – and not just a hangover.

Our five simple tips will guide you along the way.

1. Picking the Attendees

In general, an ideal wine party should be small and intimate for you to maintain better control of a planned event that is following a certain itinerary.

A gathering with four to six guests can be perfect, as it allows everyone to talk, to discuss the varieties selected, and to relax throughout without feeling overwhelmed or crowded.

You can go a bit larger, but there are two very good reasons to keep it small.

First, almost any group will become less comfortable and more distracted with a larger amount of people.

Some thrive in a bigger crowd, but others will invariably be pushed to the margins of the group.

If you do decide to go larger, intentionally segment your participants into smaller groups to keep discussions restricted and regulated rather than disheveled and scattered amongst the entire group.

Divide your company into smaller groups, and assign the members of each group according to comfortability levels.

If you want to avoid awkwardness, choose to keep certain friend or coworker groups together. But if you love disrupting typical social constructs, and believe your guests will be comfortable with this, then mix up the normal circle of friends to encourage everyone to meet and interact with new people.

Second, from a practical perspective, you want everyone to be able to sample every beverage without blowing your budget.

So, with the general knowledge that a 750-ml bottle will serve four to six people, you want to be sure you have enough of each kind to allow everyone to enjoy it and make it worth the whole reason why everyone is gathered together.

A big difference between a wine party and a tasting is that you don’t want everyone to swish a thimble-full and spit it out. You want them to enjoy it. So, keep the amount of people in your group within your budget.

And here’s another major consideration to review well before your guests arrive: ensure everyone’s travel safety when the night is over!

Assign a designated driver, or figure out a plan for everyone to strategize a sober ride home via a car service.

It’s also a smart idea to set up a guest bedroom or other area of the house for a potential overnight guest or two who may have imbibed more than originally expected.

Anticipate any possible outcome, and plan ahead – make sure that guest bathroom is clean with fresh towels!

2. Establishing a Theme

If you are going to have a party, setting a clear theme allows you to narrow down the focus in a way that will not overwhelm you with an endless selection of booze.

This will be a relief for both you as the host as well as your guests – don’t try to make your fun gathering more complicated than what it should be!

Just remember to keep the preferences of your invited guests in mind here, as a serious consideration of what you choose.

If you know members of your group strongly prefer reds, for example, you are inviting trouble by planning a theme comparing oak-barreled chardonnays to steel-barreled chardonnays.

If you are entertaining novices, you may not want to focus your party on high-tannin, heavily astringent options that might overwhelm more delicate, less experienced palates.

You want to share examples that you enjoy and those you want your guests to enjoy as well.

For other possible themes, focus on varieties from a particular region, or a particular grape. You could also do a comparison between certain regions, price points, or blends.

You can also focus on rose, orange, natural, or sparkling products for a deep dive in more specialized styles.

Or why not try a few varieties of canned or boxed wines for a fun exploration of suppliers that use alternative packaging?

And if you want to host a sober gathering, you can also focus on non-alcoholic or dealcoholized varieties.

You should also establish purchasing decisions. If this is going to be a recurring event you want to take ownership of entirely, you might make the choice to purchase all of the beverages yourself.

However, you can also decide to divide the purchasing amongst you and your guests – once the theme is established and clearly communicated to your company, allow each guest to buy a single bottle to bring to the party.

To avoid a repeat purchase, create an excel spreadsheet, email, or text message chain prior to the party that details who will be buying what bottle.

Recording tasting notes for each themed event is also crucial to maintain information – encourage guests to bring a notebook and pencil, or remind them to record notes in their phones.

You can also enlist a secretary for each theme, and rotate that role among the members of your group.

3. Thinking about Order

This is a particularly tricky aspect of a wine party!

You do not want to start out with the most powerful sample, as the rest may come off as too weak in comparison.

On the other hand, you don’t want to finish with the most intricate; unless you have organized a remarkable group, the palates will diminish in sensitivity as the evening goes.

The best way to strategize the serving order is to plan easy and obvious transitions.

What will the next wine selection bring out that contrasts well with the one before it? How can you avoid a rut – or worse yet, a total letdown – in moving from one variety to the next?

Another easy way to consider the order is by thinking geographically.

For example, if you have chosen a lineup of domestic American producers, consider a progression from the west coast to the east coast. If you have chosen something even more focused, like Californian selections, consider a progression north to south.

If you do try to finish with a bang and slightly miss the mark for whatever reason, you can of course take comfort in knowing that your friends and family members still have enjoyed a fun evening spent laughing, drinking, and eating together!

4. Choosing the Best Glassware

How important is the drinking vessel to your enjoyment of what you are consuming? This is a good question to ask before guests start arriving at your front door!

Varieties of glassware could be equally as important as the wine varietals – but only if you want them to be!

If you are interested in showcasing the strengths and weaknesses of various styles and models of wine glasses, you’ll need to ensure you have the right glassware for serving your particular lineup of wines.

Do you want to demonstrate how a shorter stemmed or stemless wider glass is better to partake in a red that is served closer to room temperature, versus a white that is served chilled and thus requires a longer stem to keep body heat away from the liquid?

In our separate glassware guide, we’ll show you how to enhance your favorite wines with the right kind of glassware.

But there’s a serious, unstoppable doom that you need to accept beforehand:

Your glasses will break. They will shatter. And you will have to throw them away.

This won’t be a surprise – you’re throwing a boozy party! The more you and your guests drink, the more risk there will be of physical slipups involving spilled beverages and wrecked glassware.

These Silicone Drink Markers from Zoom are available to purchase in a set of 12 different colors, and they fit securely either around the stem or on the rim.

Find the set now on Amazon before your next party!

5. Determining What Food to Serve

Presumably, you want your guests to keep their faculties about them throughout the party – and an empty stomach and a dry mouth are not going to help!

Other than providing a constant source and steady flow of cold, refreshing water in between glasses of wine, this also requires something solid to prevent the party from taking a sordid turn.

A small assortment of simple finger food appetizers and bites to rotate throughout the evening will perfectly suffice. And a big platter of cheese and charcuterie along with crackers and sourdough bread slices is another crowd-pleasing option to consider.

For a more meticulously built menu plan, there are indeed thoughtful pairings with food and wine, and some foods match certain varietals better than others.

If the marketing on the bottle provides suggested pairings, heed those options when you’re doing your initial info gathering. The suggestions will be generalized and safe to choose.

If there is no guidance on the bottle, consult your local specialty shop to gather in-person perspectives from knowledgeable sales reps.

Basic pairings often match or contrast the strength of the varietal. For a pairing that echoes the strength of the wine, offer a beefy main course like Dutch oven short ribs with more robust, tannic reds like cabernet sauvignon.

For a contrasting pairing example, serve a light and effervescent sparkling style with creamier and richer food items, such as brie, shellfish, creamy potato soup, or pasta dishes with thick sauces like alfredo.

In your opinion, what food will bring out the peppery finish of a spicy malbec, or the more tropical fruit nuances of a sauvignon blanc?

If you ask questions and do some research beforehand, you can show off rather nicely and confidently for the rest of your party.

If all of this seems too complicated, do yourself a huge favor by serving a more food-friendly varietal like merlot, so you don’t need to even worry about the anxieties and intricacies of pairings.

Keep It Simple, Silly

The most crucial advice of all when hosting a wine party is to not overcomplicate the planning.

It’s simple… choose drinks and foods you enjoy, and people whose company you enjoy!

Hosting can be so anxiety-ridden if you make it too much like work. Though there is planning involved to work out all the details, as we have reviewed in our five tips, the party isn’t just for your guests… it’s for you to enjoy, too!

You want your guests to have fun, but your own mood will definitely find its way into the vibe of the party – and that will be utterly noticeable if you seem stressed, worried, and panicked.