A Wine Tasting: Good Food, Great Friends, and Good Wine

Last month, my husband and I hosted a wine tasting party for a small group of friends and I have some great info to share for weddings, small dinner parties, or anyone who loves a DIY project!

A wonderful friend of mine had just begun working for PRP Wine International selling amazing wines and champagnes from all over the world. These wines are available by the case and are absolutely perfect for weddings because the labels can be personalized with your wedding logo and date! They also sell adorable miniature champagne bottles that are the perfect wedding, bridal shower, or bachelorette party favors!

Here are some photos from our wine tasting:

Wine Cork Labels - I create my own labels for everything and these were adorable!
Materials: White Cardstock, Wine Corks, Potato Pealer, Steak Knife, Scissors or Paper Cutter, and Sharpie Pen.
I began by shaving down one side of the cork with the potato pealer so that the corks had one flat side. Next, I used a steak knife to cut a slit opposite the flat side - cut about half way through the cork. I cut cardstock into small pieces approx. 1.5 x 2.5 inches. Using a sharpie pen, I wrote the names of the wine and food dishes that we served along with a little flourish. Insert the cardstock into the cork and display on the table.

The beautiful floral arrangements.
Materials: White Spider Mums, Wine Corks, Artichokes, Ribbon, Various Glass Vases.
I am in love with Spider Mums lately! They're a great, inexpensive bloom that comes in a wide variety of colors. I placed these in different glass containers throughout our home. Some of the arrangements contained wine corks, or artichokes, or both. The containers were tied with ribbon and everything looked pulled together and stunning!

I love cheese and it is a must have for a wine tasting! But I don't do cubed cheeses. All you need to do to make it absolutely gorgeous, is to buy large blocks of a variety of cheeses. Cut some into slices, some into cubes, and leave some whole with knives for your guests to cut and serve themselves. Display on rustic wooden pedestals as we did or use trays, mirrors, etc. Add labels for each type of cheese to match the wine or the rest of the food you are serving. The result: a beautiful and delicious cheese display!

Other items we served:
left: fruit display served on white pedestals from Macys.
center, top: Peanut Butter Munchies. I found this delicious recipe on the Hostess with the Mostess blog and they were a huge hit! They were delicious and everyone was completely impressed that I made them from scratch.
center, bottom: Sour Cherry Oatmeal Cookies from Boulevard Bread Co in Little Rock, AAR
right: Romaine salad with sliced roma tomatoes, topped with fresh grated parmesean cheese.
All of the food was served on white dishes. It was gorgeous!
(My husband also cooked some amazing pork loin, NY strip, and bacon wrapped scallops on the grill, but for some reason I don't have photos of these!)

All you need for a gorgeous party is a little creativity and continuity.

Check out PRP Wines for a list of avilable wines and for all of your party needs! Email me if you would like to contact her for your event and I'll be happy to send you the information.