It doesn't matter if you're a serious wine connoisseur or if the extent of your knowledge on the variety of wines is red and white, hosting a wine tasting can be a seriously fun way to entertain. There are so many ways to go about it, but this guide is designed to help you create a simple event that pairs a few wines with some easy appetizer options so that you can have just as much fun as your guests rather than stressing about all the details.

1. Determine the guest list keeping it to around 10 people. This is an ideal number of people for mingling and won't be so many that you feel overwhelmed trying to entertain everyone. You can invite a group of people that already know each other, or people that you feel would get along well and enjoy meeting each other. The tasting activity lends itself to natural conversation, so most people should find plenty to talk about.
2. Plan the party time for the type of food you are serving. When hosting an appetizers only party, make this clear to your guests and have the party start later than the normal dinner hour so that people will have a chance to eat before they arrive.
3. Send out the invites. Request RSVP's at least several days in advance so that you will know how much food and wine to purchase. Mailing formal invites is great, however, since this is a more informal type of party you could send an Evite, e-mail or just text or call depending on how well you know everyone. You will probably get a much better response this way. Send out invites about 2-4 weeks in advance depending on the time of year. People get busier around the holidays and need more advance notice, but too much notice and people forget.
4. Once you know the guest list, you can determine the best place in your home to have the party. If you have a large enough kitchen with plenty of room to sit or an island to work with, I think this is a great place to host the party. It keeps the mess to a minimum and your guests in one location. If you need to choose another room, just make sure you have plenty of table space to set up the food and beer and that there will still be plenty of room to include seating and plenty of room for people to move around without bumping into each other. I don't suggest hosting in the nicest/most formal room of your home because you don't want your guests to stress about spilling or making a mess, you want them to feel comfortable and relaxed.
5. Now you can choose your wines! This is the fun part. Keep it simple, though. Pick three white wines and three red wines to try. Look for an online wine tastings menu for specific suggestions and themes, or ask for help at your local wine shop/liquor store.
6. How much wine should you buy? That depends on your specific guest list. At a minimum, you will need to plan for about 1/2 of a bottle per guest. However, if you want your guests to linger a little longer after the end of the tasting portion of the evening, you may want to plan for 1 bottle per guest. Just be mindful to not over-serve anyone and make sure everyone has a way home without having to drive themselves. An average pour for a tasting would be about 2 oz, but you can adjust this based on the needs and desires of your guest
7. Determine what kind of food you want to have. Since this is an appetizer party, we suggest finger foods or things that are easy to eat while standing. You can use our wine tastings menu to select food pairing specifically by wine and add the recipes you'd like to make right to your meal plan for the week you are hosting. One recipe per wine is usually the right amount of food. You will also want to set out pretzels or saltine crackers as palate cleansers for those who wish to have them.
8. In general you will need one glass per person, plenty of appetizer sized plates (disposable or not), note cards and pens for anyone who wants to jot down thoughts about the wines and buckets for anyone who would prefer to empty their glass without finishing it.
9. Any additional decor you want to add is up to you! You can see all of our table setting and party decor ideas here.
10. Picking some music to play in the background is optional, but a nice touch as well. Just keep the volume low so that no one has to talk over the music, and consider the tastes of your guests in determining what genre to play.