How-To Host a Wicked Wine Tasting Party

Spook-tacular Tips from Savor Wine Boutique…

Halloween heralds the start of the holiday season – and where there is a party, there is wine! A wine tasting party doesn’t have to be a stuffy affair, so mix things up a little by throwing a unique Hallo-Wine bash that is sure to be a treat.

Follow these 5 easy steps to host a wine tasting party that guests will be dying to attend:

1. Invitations – Get crafty and make your own wine bottle shaped party invitations. Use construction paper or poster board, flat sheets of cork to make a life-like cork stopper for the top, a label in the middle of the “bottle” should provide party details.

2. Décor – Create your very own haunted wine cellar with equal amounts of sophistication and spook factor. Use old wooden barrels to hold platters of food and wine and decorate with large glass jars, corks, grapes, pumpkins, gourds, colorful leaves, lots of candles and scary touches like faux spider webs and spiders.

3. Food – Set up a nice assortment of fruit, cheese, crackers, bread, nuts and a few heavier appetizers (think stuffed mushrooms, beef satay or hearty pumpkin soup). Be sure to label your assortment with toothpicks that have labels attached – use a ghoulish computer font or eerie hand writing for maximum effect!

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4. Wine – Use an old wooden door, wine crates or designate the kitchen island or a large coffee table to display your wicked wine collection. Add some dry ice to the display area for a ghostly effect and don’t forget tasting notes on each wine to help guests remember their favorites!

5. Attention to Detail – Be sure to have haunting music, lots of candy, plenty of dump buckets and bottled waters handy. Create a candy station within the party room and place small gift bags or containers nearby so guests can help themselves and take home treats as parting gifts. Include our wicked wine and candy pairing suggestions below for optimal pleasure.

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Candy Pairings & Savor Wine Boutique’s Customer Favorites:

• Almond Joy and JanKris Sparkling Almond (Paso Robles, CA)
• Caramel Apples and Akiwa Bay Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand)
• Candy Corn and Bodegas Carrau Chardonnay (Uruguay)
• Snickers and Lelia Garnacha (Spain)
• Three Musketeers and Il Falchetto Brachetto D’ Acqui (Italy)
• Hershey’s Dark Chocolate and Pasión de Bobal (Spain)

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Make no bones about it, your guests will have a frightfully good time! So, dress up, party down and enjoy the wine.

Cheers!

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Savor Wine Boutique offers weekly complimentary “try before you buy” educational tastings on Wednesdays from 5:30-7:30pm and Saturdays from 2:00-5:00pm. Visit www.SavorWineBoutique.com to join our email list or follow on Facebook and Twitter for advance notice of in-store tastings, educational classes and special events.