Fall Wine and Cheese Tasting Party

We recently held a fall wine and cheese tasting party at our home – it was a wonderful excuse to get together with our friends and try something new!

Here is a sample of the invitations that I made for the party

I asked each of our guests to bring a bottle of wine to the party to swap with someone else. To keep it anonymous I had an area set up with bags/tissue. When each guest came in they wrote their name on the bottom of the bag before they placed their bottle in it – so they wouldn’t accidentally take their own home. This was such a fun way for everyone to take home a new wine to try – maybe something they wouldn’t normally pick for themselves.

I also created come wine tasting sheets for my guests to fill out while they were doing the tasting. I used a book that the guy from Total Wine and More game me to help me create these tasting sheets. If you are interested in downloading my tasting sheets here are a few links to a document sharing site:

Red Wine Tasting Sheet

White Wine Tasting Sheet

I also made wine charms for everyone's wine glasses. There were 14 of us total so we didn’t want to get the glasses mixed up. I used wince corks and candles for most of my décor, a hunter green color and some chalkboard/chalk accents. I also had a large 2x4 chalkboard that I made with all of the nights pairings written on it – but I forgot to snap a picture of it. Oops!

 I also made some wine charm favors in these cute jute bags for my guests to take home after the party

There were an array of appetizers for the guests to enjoy – recipes to come in future posts

Endive with Gorgonzola, Pear and Walnuts

Cranberry and Blue Cheese Bruschetta

Butternut Squash Shooters

Stuffed Mushrooms

Goat Cheese Tarts

Baked Brie with Apple Compote

Cheese Straws

Assorted Crackers

There were 4 wine and cheese pairings for the evening – two red and two white. I also updated a few cheese knives by putting wine corks on the end.

Château L’Ermitage Costières de Nimes paired with an herbed goat cheese

Awakena Carmenère paired with a camembert

Cottesbrook Sauvignon Blanc paired with a cheddar

A selection of three Rieslings paired with gorgonzola – Sawtooth was the crowd favorite

As well as a port paired with a flourless chocolate cake and a gewürztraminer paired with a pumpkin cheesecake topped with brown-butter pears. I personally really enjoyed the Carmenère, which is a Chilean wine and I also like the Sauvignon Blanc, it paired really nicely with the cheddar. Port wines have really intense flavor and my guests that had tasted them before said that they were able to enjoy it much more when drinking it while eating the chocolate cake. But I think the pumpkin cheesecake may have been a favorite of the night! 

Everyone had lots of fun tasting and discussing the wines and cheeses

This was a fun way for all of us to get together and learn a little more about all these wines and cheeses :) And definitely a change from our typically dinner parties