You may remember me writing this post about a friend of mine having a mystery wine party. That party was a little over a year ago, but she had another one (with an around the world theme) this past March. Each event was so much fun that I knew I had to have my own.
A good friend of mine got married in March. It was a great wedding, partly because I got to reconnect with some of the girls that I graduated high school with. I thought that it would be great to have them for a dinner party. What a perfect opportunity to have my mystery wine party!
Here are the details for the mystery wine idea:
- Each guest is assigned to bring a different type of wine (I did kind of wine, but at the around the world party we brought wine from different parts of the world).
- The wine should be under 15 dollars and a brand you’ve never had before.
- Guests bring their wine still in the brown bag that it is given in. That way you can’t tell what the wine is before the guessing begins!
- Everyone tastes each wine at the same time, guessing type, year (or vintage if you want to sound fancy), and location.
- The person with the most correct wins!
I tried to make the party look and taste great! I want to note that I copied was inspired by my friend’s party, so please don’t give me all the credit! I started with a wine themed flower arrangement. I was going for a purple and green color scheme.
Brown butcher paper covered the table so that guests could write their wine guesses right on the table. I provided purple and green Sharpie pens right with the silverware. (Note- the paper needs to be cut to the table size and shape because it does not fold down like a normal tablecloth.)
The food was very centered on the wine theme. Simple food with hints of international flare. First I had cheese, crackers, and grapes. The cheeses include Havardi Dill, Extra Sharp Cheddar, Gouda, and Blue Cheese. I made sure to let them come to room temperature. Grapes accented the platter perfectly.
Next time I will have to remember to leave the cheese in the packaging until right before people come. By the end of the night the edges were just a tad dry.
Dill dip with veggies right on the table. So delish!
Plus three different recipes of bruschetta.
The three kinds of bruschetta are regular ol’ tomato (with some melted mozzarella), braised pepper, and honey-lemon ricotta. They were all fantastic!
My absolute favorite part of the meal was the butterbeer cupcakes! I am Harry Potter obsessed, as were some others at the party, so they added a perfect ending. I found them on Pinterest, my favorite website. Here is the original link to the recipe. I highly recommend them! Anything with cream soda and butterscotch is good with me!
I neglected to take pictures during the party… we were just having too much fun! So much fun that one of the guests is having her own Cinco de Mayo themed wine party tomorrow. I can’t wait!
Have you ever been to or hosted a wine tasting party? Are you as obsessed with Harry Potter as I am? Let me know!
-Carolyn
Made From the Heart 