11/30/07 Holiday Parties

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. Recently the topic of how to incorporate a wine tasting into a holiday party came up and I thought I would share some of my recommendations. First and foremost - it is the holidays, everyone is busy, and getting together will be largely about socializing. So don't get your feelings hurt if your guests only intermittently focus on the wine. That is a major reason to pick a theme. This will give the wine portion of the evening some focus and a better likelihood of being memorable. Set up a wine tasting area separate from the food and select the wines to uphold your theme. For example, white wines all Sauvignon Blanc with a different region of origin say one from New Zealand one from France and one from the United States. Do the same with a red wine such as Cabernet or Merlot from different regions such as Chile Australia Washington and California. If you are interested in new and upcoming wines, try sampling Riesling from differt parts of the world as the white wines and Syrah from differing price points as the red wine. Provide a little information about all of the wines and of course how much they cost and maybe even, where you purchased them. Have dump buckets and enough glassware for each guest to have a red and a white glass. Accompanied by plenty of savory food you should have the makings for an enjoyable holiday wine tasting party. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.