5 Tips to Host Your Own Wine Tasting Party with NC Wines

Back in January, my friend Katherine and I headed out to the western part of North Carolina to experience the Yadkin Valley Wine Trail.  We had such a great time and learned so much about North Carolina grapes and the wine industry, so we wanted to bring back our favorite bottles and host our own wine tasting party with NC wines for an epic girls’ night in.

Here are 5 tips to host your own wine tasting party with NC wines.

#1: Keep your Wine Tasting Party Simple.

While I love a good reason to dress up, hosting a girls night in is an opportunity for friends to come over, make themselves at home, and relax.  That also goes for the party set up.  I kept it simple and opted to set out fresh flowers, and some of my favorite serving pieces.  I did make a decision to use our real plates so clean up would just be putting them in the dishwasher.

Shop this Wine Tasting Party Post:

Pottery Barn Wine Cooler | Red Wine Glasses | White Wine Glasses | Champagne Flutes
Mackenzie-Childs Pot Holder | Mrs. Meyer’s Candle in Geranium | Pottery Barn Dinnerware
Electric Wine Opener (see more of my favorite kitchen gadgets here)

Amazon Fashion Top | J. Jill Ponte Pants (c/o) | Amazon Fashion Tortoise Hoops

#2: Don’t go overboard with wine options.

While we sampled a large variety of wines on our trip, I didn’t want to overwhelm with options during my wine tasting party.  Katherine and I wanted the opportunity to be able to share our experience at the vineyards and what we learned about each one, the grapes used, and how it was different than the traditional muscadine wine options most people are familiar with in NC.  Limiting the number of options really helped us provide good information without going overboard.

NC Wines Essentials:

Bubbles:

JOLO Vineyards Twinkles

Whites:

Elkin Creek Vineyards Soft White Wine

Shelton Vineyards Yadkin Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Shelton Vineyards Two Five Nine Bourbon Barrel Aged Chardonnay

Reds:

Round Peak Vineyards Montepulciano

Round Peak Vineyards Nebbiolo

Shelton Vineyards Two Five Nine Bourbon Barrel Aged Red Blend

See highlights from our trip & itinerary here.

#3: Serve Small Bites, but Don’t Hesitate to Order Pizza.

Everyone brought snacks to our wine tasting party, ranging from chicken salad to baked brie, but we also decided to order a pizza.  If you didn’t know, Domino’s offers are pretty amazing white pizza option!  Order a cheese pizza with garlic parmesan white sauce.  You won’t be disappointed.

#4: Use Real Wine Glasses.

I registered for all of this fancy drink ware for our wedding, and I never really get to use it.  This was a perfect opportunity to bring out my sets of real wine glasses.  Also, our dishwasher has an option for glassware, so it made clean up a breeze!  I love this set of 12 wine glasses that has 4 red, 4 white, and 4 champagne flutes for a great price!

#5: Provide games or conversation starters.

We’ve all known each other for a while, but some of us have transitioned to other careers, so having conversation starters is always a good way to make sure that everyone can catch up during the wine tasting party.  Another option is to play a game and some of my favorites are Cards Against Humanity and Apples to Apples.

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