How to Host a Wine Tasting at Home: The Wine and Cheese Party Guide

Enjoy the finer things in life by throwing an in-home wine tasting. Hosting a wine tasting can be easy once you learn wine and cheese pairings and more.

By: Chelsea Scarnegie, Editor, AllFreeHolidayCrafts.com

With a few easy tips, you can host your own wine tasting at home and impress your friends with your newfound skills. If you've always dreamt of being a wine connoisseur, read this article, How to Host a Wine Tasting at Home: The Wine and Cheese Party Guide. By throwing your own wine and cheese party, you and your friends can enjoy good times and learn even more about the world of fine wine. This is a great way to expand your wine pallet, and perhaps you'll even find a new favorite wine and cheese pairing.

Don't worry, dear host or hostess, about ruining your own evening of fun and friendship. With this foolproof guide, you can't go wrong. We've covered all the basics like wine selections, decorations, and snack ideas, so all you have to do is choose a theme! With this "to-do" style list, you can be sure that your party will be a hit. Hosting a wine tasting at home means that you get to be in charge of everything from the atmosphere to the flavors. If you're not a wine and cheese expert, we've even got a list where you can find the perfect wine and cheese pairing that will suit you and your guests. To make your evening even more special, why not try to make a few of the wine bottle crafts listed? They might just be the perfect finishing touch to the night's festivities.

Steps for Hosting a Wine Tasting

Select the wine. It's best to select no more than five types of wine when you're hosting a wine tasting at home, as any more than that will get overwhelming (and pricey!). Pick a combination of reds and whites, but be sure to serve them in order from lightest to darkest. An easy way to choose your wines is to stick to a specific region as your "theme." Think Tuscany or Napa Valley - or try sampling various wines from your own home state!
Gather your "party supplies." Wines should be served in Bordeaux glasses, but you only need one per person. (Tip: Don't rinse your glasses between each taste, as water droplets may dilute the wine.) It can even be fun to make your own coasters as a personal touch and a little something for your guests to remember the evening by. If you're going for elegant simplicity, we recommend these Pretty Stenciled Disc Coasters.
Prepare snacks. Your wine and cheese party can be more than just wine and cheese, you know. Feel free to serve anything from cheese straws and dried fruit to pistachios and rich chocolate. For something a little more traditional, there's nothing like this Copycat Olive Garden Breadstick Recipe.
Create a special playlist. Music makes everything better and really helps set whatever mood you envision. From Marvin Gaye to Van Morrison to Bill Withers, there are so many artists with so many unique styles. Choose a CD of your favorite performer, or create your own playlist to blend multiple genres and sounds.
Learn how to savor the flavor. On the evening of your wine tasting at home, you will want to make observations about the wine's look, scent, and (of course) taste. Is the wine bright or dark? Does it smell fruity, floral, herbal, or earthy? When it comes to taste, be sure to "slurp" the wine as you would a cup of hot coffee. This aerates the wine and brings out its true flavor.

Wine and Cheese Pairings

Bloomy. Cheeses such as camembert, brie, robiola, and taleggio pair well with champagne, chardonnay, sparkling wine, and pinot blanc.
Hard. Cheeses such as gouda, cheddar, parmesan, double gloucester, pecorino, gruyere, and fontina pair well with merlot, cabernet sauvignon, chianti, zinfandel, valpolicella, sauvignon blanc, and bardolino.
Blue. Cheeses such as gorgonzola, stilton, blue, and cambozola pair well with port, sauternes, riesling, and eiswein.
Fresh. Cheeses such as ricotta, mozzarella, goat, feta, and burrata pair well with pinot grigio, sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc, beaujolais, and tocai friulano.

DIY Party Decorations to Add a Touch of Class

Wine and Cheese Pairing Chart

Need a little help matching that delicious wine with the perfect cheese? Our wine and cheese pairing chart is a handy tool that you can have on-hand at your next celebration. Wondering which wine will go best with that rich wedge of gouda from the deli aisle? Are you dying to add a little savory flavor to your palette as you sip a chilled glass of riesling? Click here to download our handy wine and cheese pairing chart, and you'll feel like a true pro!