How-to: Wine & Cheese Party

October 16, 2016 6 Comments

Category: Entertaining, Home Life
Tags: Entertaining, Ladies' night, Wine and Cheese Party

Check out how to host wine night – from the perfect cheese plate to a wine game everyone will enjoy – it’s all here.

This past weekend I hosted a wine party for the ladies in the neighborhood and it was such a fun night! Wine parties are the perfect excuse to socialize and meet new people – not to mention, drink a lot of good wine!

Living in the city, it’s pretty common to never really know your neighbors. In fact, until we moved to Wicker Park, I could barely even recognize the people who lived across the hall. But luckily, we’ve moved into an awesome neighborhood where we not only know our neighbors but they’ve become our good friends.

A few of us decided it would be nice to expand our social circle on the block and get to know a few others so I decided to host a ladies’ wine night. Wine nights are a perfect excuse to get everyone together – they’re easy to plan for, guests can come and go as they please, and who doesn’t like a night full of wine?! Plus, a wine night is an easy ice-breaker especially for people you don’t know well.A few things to consider when planning your wine night:

Guest List

Decide if it’s a ladies’ night or if you’re doing a couple’s event. Either works for a wine night but I always find that it’s more intimate and personable when you have 6-8 people.

Menu

Lots of wine! Encourage your guest to bring their favorite wine so there’s more to taste – plus, it brings down the cost for you too! Aim to serve 6 wines at the tasting.

Cheese plate, of course! No wine party would be complete without a variety of cheese, fruits, nuts and meats.

• Cheese: Include a variety from a soft cheese like Bree to a hard Parmesan. I aim for 4+ cheeses which varies on number of attendees.
• Fruit: Add in some red or green grapes or thin slices of apple.
• Nuts: Consider adding in some crunch with raw almonds.
• Meats: I like to mix in a few raw meats to add substance, like salami or proschuito 
• Olives: Include a variety of colors and sizes. Most grocery stores now have olive bars so you can easily get an assortment.
• Crackers: I like to include 2-3 types for variety and always aim for 1 to be gluten free for those with restrictions.

Especially when wine is served, it’s ideal to think about including some apps which have a bit more substance. I included some healthier options like edamame humus, shrimp cocktail, and bruschetta.

Entertainment

No wine night is complete without a game!

Here’s the thing about games – keep them simple!! You and your guests are going to want to enjoy the wine and company so don’t make them think too hard (hey, they are likely tipsy at this point too!).

We had so much fun playing this game…

Have your guests bring their favorite wine for a blind wine tasting. Cover them (I used these from Amazon) and have guests rate them from 1-5 by filling in the wine glasses. The attendee whose wine gets the highest rating wins a prize. I had a few gifts, like an electronic wine opener and aerator, which spices up the competition. It was super fun and I highly recommend it!

So what are you waiting for? With the holidays around the corner, host a wine night and let me know how it goes!

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