Wine Party
Tips
By Joe
Armstrong
Ready to
throw your first wine party, but not sure where to
start? The Shack is here to help. Below are some
basic tips to making your evening of sophistication
all the better.
First,
decide on a price limit for your guests. I usually
stick with a price ceiling of 35 dollars. All your
guests must bring one bottle of red and one bottle
of white wine. The total cost of both bottles
combined cannot exceed $35. Your guests must bring
each bottle in a paper bag so the labels cannot be
seen. (Be sure to have some extra paper bags on
hand for that annoying guest who forgets) At the
end of this article, I give the basic rules for a
blind tasting party.
Decide
which of your friends not to invite. Then go to e-nonvite.com,
fill out your party details, and then fill in the
email addresses of your friends who are not
invited. The website will handle the rest. It will
inform your noninvited friends of the party details
and also inform them that they are not invited.
Sometimes, in order to make some of my noninvited
friends feel better, I let them know in the enonvite
that the party pictures will be on my facebook after
the party. I tell them to just look at the pictures
and pretend like they are there.
After
you’ve figured out who isn’t invited and sent them
the appropriate notification from e-nonvite.com, go
over to evite.com and register a free account along
with your party details. This website will then
send evites for free to all your cool friends. Be
sure to inform them of all the party details i.e.
what to bring and the attire. There is nothing this
party planner doesn’t like more than the moocher who
shows up early empty handed and leaves the following
morning drinking my last sugar free red bull.
Decide
on a theme. Here are some ideas: classy, movie
characters, eye masks, wigs, ugly clothing, 80’s, or
ape costumes.
After
you decide the theme, assemble your mp3 play lists.
This party planner doesn’t like parties where people
have to keep stopping the flow of the music in order
to find another song.
Next,
decide on your decorations and party proof the area
of your house where people will be the most. This
isn’t high school; you don’t need to clear it out.
Just make sure you remove obvious breakables.
Finally,
make sure your lighting sets the mood. Not too
bright and not too dark. You can accomplish good
lighting affordably by purchasing some “up-lights”
from your local home store. They can run as little
as 5 dollars. Be sure to buy some low wattage and
eco friendly bulbs. Place these up lights behind
your furniture, in corners, and behind plants.
You’ll be amazed at how this sets the party mood
Blind
Taste Rundown
Now,
even though it may feel wrong, separate the whites
from the reds. I usually set them up on opposite
sides of the room. Make sure each bottle is hidden
inside a paper bag. With a marker, number each
bottle clearly. Start with either the reds or
whites and have your guests sample each wine. Have
a pitcher of water handy so you can rinse each
person’s glass after each sample. Now, have each
guest vote on their favorite. I like to have the
top two selected go to a final round of voting.
This allows your guests to really concentrate on the
taste and smells of the wine. After a winner is
picked, have your guests reveal the prices they
paid. If you are feeling nice, give the person who
brought the best wine from each color, a prize. I
like to give pats on the back.
There
you have it. With these tips from The Shack, you
will be the talk of the town. Remember, do not let
any of your guests drink and drive!
