Valley Family Fun: Wine Tasting Parties

Valley Family Fun: Wine Tasting Parties
By Laura Churchill Duke

Sometimes the adults in the family need to have some fun too, so it’s not always about the kids! Consider hosting a wine tasting party! Here is an easy step-by-step on how to run your own tasting parties.

1. Create an invitation using Evite. I like using this program, because it keeps track of who is coming, the system sends reminders, and you can ask guests to bring things.
2. Make a list of wines you would like to test and have each of your guests sign up to bring one of the bottles. This is the fun part where you get to pick a theme. With friends, we have tried a few different parties, including a Tidal Bay tasting party, and a red wine from around the world night. Here, we selected Cabernet Sauvignon. Everyone signed up to bring a bottle from a particular country. Along with the wine, the guest had to bring an appetizer or snack from that country, too!

Don’t just think wines! Our latest tasting night was all about cider, focusing on our local cideries! Or, if you are involving kids, try a root beer or cola tasting party for the kids! These instructions can also be found on the Valley Family Fun website.

1. Before everyone arrives, set out the glasses. For each bottle we were testing, I prepared a cup for each guest. Each bottle was associated with a different sticker.
2. Have a host. It makes it a lot easier if one person agrees to pour and serve the glasses, so that everyone else is blind to what they are drinking. The host also keeps track of the master list of what sticker was which wine.
3. Give everyone a testing sheet. These you can download on Valley Family Fun, or make your own, allowing your guests to rate each drink from 1-5.
4. Do a big reveal. At the end, show everyone what drink was which and allow guests to have more of their favourites!

Please drink responsibly and find a safe way home! We love these tasting parties so much and can’t wait for the next theme. Perhaps we will try craft breweries next! Stay tuned!

Full details and printables can be found on ValleyFamilyFun.ca by searching for “wine tasting”.