Entertaining with Wine

If your picture of hosting a Wine Evening at home is a bunch of stiff lip critics round a table, intellectual wine babble, wine stains and dishes. You are not alone. Many of us busy people are not inspired by long complicated procedures of analysing wines, however wine tasting is a great way of creating a relaxing, social get-together with like minded friends.

Here are some easy to follow steps to the no-sweat approach to hosting an exciting, fun wine evening at home with a Difference!

Who are you inviting?

Best choose friends with the same wine interest and experience. Are they casual wine drinkers, wine enthusiasts, wine club regulars, connoisseurs? Invite guests who will be curious to try out different wines in and informal way, without being too critical about the small stuff, yet not too unappreciative of the art of wines.


How many guests?

The idea is to have enough space for your guests to move around and mingle. There is no need for the big, oval table unless you're up for a formal wine tasting or gourmet dinner!


Make it easy with a theme!

Decide beforehand which kind of wines you would like to pour! There are plentiful possibilities. Here are some ideas:

Single varietal tasting: Taste different grape varieties of the same producer, for example Douglas Green Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Shiraz, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Start with a lightest white and finish with the fullest red. Always taste whites before reds and light wines before fuller wines.

Varietals challenge: Compare the same varietal wine (Chardonnay or Shiraz for example) from different producers against each other. Make sure that the price range and the vintages are similar. This way you can choose your favourite producer and experience how climate and wine tasting techniques impact wines from the same grape variety.

Vertical tasting: Taste the same wine from different vintages against each other. This will let the tasters see how each vintage compare to the next and also judge the aging process.

White or red blends tasting: Try out different blended wines, to taste how blending can impact wines. The famous blends are the Bordeaux blend and the Cape Blend, but there are countless variations to choose from.

Tip: Have a “bring your own” wine tasting. Simply provide your friends with clear guidelines of the theme and ask each person to bring one bottle. Put the request clearly on the invitation, such as bring a “Bottle of White wine between R20-R30” or a “South-African Chardonnay no more than R80.

Tip: When choosing the wine theme, think about the weather! On a warm summer evening a “Summer White Wine Tasting” may be inviting, but full red wines will probably be better during the cold winter months.

Tip: Always choose a light blend or Sparkling wine as an aperitif on arrival. This will certainly get all in the mood!


How much wine will be required?

You will need at least 6 different wines to compare. One can easily get 5 full glasses out of one bottle. During a tasting one normally only fill a quarter of a tasting glass, which allows one to get around 18 glasses per bottle. However, this only applies for wines being tasted during a guided tasting and you may choose to allow more wines for second tastings and fill-ups.

Keep white wines slightly chilled. Refrigerate an unopened bottle for 1 to 2 hours. Red wines should be served at a cool room temperature of between 16-18˚C

Tip: Leave the open bottles on tables, such that your guests can help themselves to their favourite wines during the evening. By separating the bottles on different tables, you keep people moving and spread things out. This creates a social atmosphere, and reduces the chances of guests knocking bottles over when they serve themselves.


What about glasses?

In traditional formal tasting you will need a new glass for every wine. So every person will have at least 6 glasses. For the on-the-go person, this may mean more expenses and far too much time washing dishes, right? You will be happy to know that in a less than formal wine evening at home, you can easily get away with one glass per person!

Simply give each person a glass at the door as a welcoming gift for the evening. You can then pour the wines as you taste the different bottles or even allow your guests to pour themselves!

If you decide to provide each person with only one glass, it is very important to have a few jugs of water standing around. This will enable your guests to rinse their glasses between servings or even drink some to clean their palates. Also place spittoon buckets close to the jugs of water, such that your guests can pour the excess water or wines out. It is always a good idea to let your guests know that spitting and pouring out wines is completely acceptable and ok.


Food to choose

The clean approach to wine tasting will allow water, unsalted crackers or pieces of bread between wines to neutralise the taste buds. However, as an informal wine enthusiast you can have some hors d'oeuvres, cheese, fruit, unsalted crackers, bread or other munchies in between the tasting for a social, informal atmosphere. Be careful to avoid overly flavoursome food such as olives, which may overpower the wines. For lighter wines, choose lighter snacks.

If you are planning a more formal tasting with a dinner, have a shorter tasting before the meal and provide some drinking wines for throughout the dinner.

Tip: Always have some back up snacks ready, as guest may get hungry later in the evening.

Why not choose food to go with the chosen wine theme? Generally, South-African food compliments South-African Wines, Italian Wines with Italian snacks etc.


What wine knowledge will you need?

As the host it will be ideal for you to know a little bit about the wines, which you have chosen. Every wine producer, have a vision of what their wines are all about. By knowing the producer, you will know the creation. The most important information on the bottle is the name of the producer, the vintage and the grape variety. You can easily find more information on the producer's websites or in books which rate wines according to quality for example the John Platter book.

Make it easy for yourself by printing out some general information on the wines to hand them out for those who are interested in reading more. You don't need to know everything off by heart and don't be offended if no one bothers to read the small print.


Pre-party check list

Wine Opener

Either one glass per person per wine (consider renting glassware) or if you insist on giving each person one glass for the evening, make sure to have enough water for rinsing the glasses.

Jugs of Water (Room Temperature)

Ice Buckets

Spittoon Buckets (Buckets, Jugs, Fish Bowels, Flower pots or anything else without a hole in it)

Pens and Tasting Notes Sheets - Give these to your guests so that they can make notes on the wines.

Food - Prepare it in advance

Music to set the mood

Don't forget the wines! 		 

Terms & Conditions | Douglas Green Copyright