Tips for Throwing an Awesome Wine and Cheese Party

Here's another previously published post from that now defunct web site...

Planning a Wine and Cheese Tasting Party at Home

Wine and cheese are natural companions and planning a party around a wine tasting theme is a great way to learn how certain foods compliment certain wines. It is also a good excuse for gathering a group of people together to uncork a few of your favorite bottles or even to experiment a bit and try something new.

Select what wines to choose by deciding what kind of experience you want your guests to have. Will you stick to old favorites? Will you try to learn about "new" varietals you haven't tried before? Will you compare specific varietals of old world wines to their new world counterparts? Do you want to introduce your guests to wines they can enjoy socially without the need of food? How many different types will you serve? (The standard is between four and six different wines.)

If you are not an expert in wine varietals and vintages you will want to make a list of all the things you like and dislike in a wine being sure to be as specific as possible. Once you have decided on your wine and cheese party theme you can take your list to your favorite retailer and explain what you like and what you want to accomplish with your tasting and come up with a list to delight the palates of you and your guests.

How much wine to purchase for your party will depend upon how many guests you are inviting. You can get ten to twelve "tastes" from a bottle of wine depending on pour size so you will want to have at least two bottles of wine for every dozen or so people expected. This way there will be ample enough wine to go around and guests will be able to revisit the wines they liked later.

If you will have not tried the wines before the party be sure to find out if any need to be decanted before serving. This is extremely important because if a wine needs to be decanted for an hour you will have to open it well ahead of your guests' arrival for it to have oxidized appropriately for enjoyment. (Experimenting with oxidation is another good idea for a wine party theme.

The wine seller can also help you choose the proper order in which for your wines to be arranged for tasting. You will not want to skip back and forth at random as some wines will not compliment each other or may be heavier or more or less refreshing than others. Wine tasting usually begins with bubbles such as Champagne, Cava, or Prosecco. Even if you are not including some type of sparkling wine in your tasting lineup it is a good idea to have a few bottles on hand and chilled for your guests to enjoy a glass upon arrival while waiting for the tasting to begin.

Tasting order should be white wines first, then reds, and then dessert wines. You could also finish with a nice sherry or liqueur or even a bit of Pineau de Charentes. Be sure to serve your wines at the proper temperatures for optimum enjoyment. If a wine is too cold it will not offer up any bouquet and will have very little to offer in flavor as well. If a wine is too warm it may feel too acidic or tannic on the tongue. Even red wine varietals could stand a few minutes in the fridge to cool off as room temperature can vary in different parts of the world.

You may have to do a little research in order to choose complimentary cheeses for the wines you have picked for your tasting party. Try to select quality artisan cheeses if possible instead of mass produced cheese that is readily available at the supermarket. Whenever possible, look to cheeses that are from the same regions as the wines you have chosen for your party.

In addition to cheese you should provide your guests with crackers or bread such as a few sliced baguettes so that they can clean their palates in between tasting the different wines you have selected. Cheese is not necessarily a substantial support for wine drinking so consider having a few other food items for your guests such as a green salad and perhaps a bit of pasta. These additional food items will not only keep your guests from becoming tipsy, they will appreciate the opportunity to try the wines you have selected for your party with and without actual food as this can help them plan their own wine and food pairings in the future.

You will also want to have plenty of water on hand for both drinking and for rinsing of glasses. Rinsing a glass with water will insure that a particularly aromatic or pungent wine does not leave any left over influence in the glass to interfere with the experience of the next wine being tasted. It also saves you from having to perform a rinse with the next wine, which leaves more in the bottle for drinking.

Even though wine tasting portions are only an ounce or two, if your guests are lightweights they may not wish to actually drink all of the wines being tasted to a dump bucket (or two) might be hand to have on hand. A simple ice bucket will do for this purpose. This could be useful as well is a guest does not care for the taste of a particular wine and wants to pour it out.

Handing out fact sheets or tasting notes will give interested guests background information on the wines being tasted and help them to remember them later should they decide they would like to purchase them. Most tasting notes are available online from the winemakers and your favorite wine retailer can help you with this as well.

If you have decided you want your guests to come away from your wine and cheese party with an increased knowledge of wines you should provide them with a tasting sheet where they can record their impressions of the wine's color, smell and taste, as well as how it paired with the particular cheese you chose for it.

Smell, taste, and appearance are the three key factors in experiencing what a wine has to offer. Always have your guests taste their wines in an actual glass that is clear and free of cutwork designs. Plastic cups may save you a lot of dishwashing, but they just do not offer the same experience.

Wine tasting can be a delightful adventure for the sense and with a little planning you can throw and awesome wine and cheese party your guests will remember fondly for years into the future.

Malbec: The Other Red Wine

Wine tasting is by far one of my favorite pastimes. When I started contributing articles to Helium, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to be able to write about wine. I am far from an expert on the subject, but in the fall after hurricane Katrina (the following fall - 2006) I started attending tastings around town on a regular basis, and after the first year of sampling and note taking, I realized I had compiled quite a lot of information.

Before that time, I hadn't given much thought to all the range of wine varietals that exist. By the fall of the following year (2007) I had also taken over as the organizer of a Meetup.com based wine group. By the time I started contributing to Helium, I was ready to do quite a lot of wine writing, only I soon discovered that crafts and how-to articles were a lot more profitable.

I don't go out to taste quite as much anymore, but with Helium soon to be no longer in existence, I'm glad I still have my wine blog available to become the new home for my previously published wine articles like this one from March 2009, on the subject of Malbec wine.

A Guide to Malbec Wine

Most red wine drinkers are familiar with the major grape varietals in producing red wines such as Cabernet, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Zinfandel, but there is another lesser known grape that is steadily gaining in popularity with the resurgence of wine tasting venues and growing wine imports.

The Malbec grape, which is produced the most in Argentina, used to be more widely used in wine production until a devastating frost destroyed a significant amount of crops, causing French growers to pull out the vines in favor of more hearty varietals for the clime.

In most instances, what little Malbec vines that are cultivated is mostly used for blending to round out French Bordeaux as well as Bordeaux-style wines produced in other countries. Some believe the fact that Malbec is known by a multitude of aliases has also contributed to its decline over the years. It was first introduced into Argentina in 1868, and the only place outside of Argentina still producing Malbec in any volume is Cahors, France.

The weather and terrain of Argentina produce an entirely different type of wine than the old word style Malbec and it is quickly gaining ground among new world wine drinkers who prefer fruit forward wines that don't have to be consumed with food in order to fully enjoy them.

However, Malbec almost all but disappeared from Argentina as well after a massive vine pull in the 1980's when it was thought the more widely known reds would be more profitable to grow.

Thanks to the increased production of Malbec in Argentina red wine lovers now have a new wine to experience and enjoy at a nice range of price points beginning under $10 U.S.

Some wines from this thin-skinned grape can impart a strong earthy or even barnyard smell on the nose initially, but this usually dissipates with aeration or decanting. The "Reserve" versions tend to be more intense and are better accompanied by food.

On the palate Malbec promises an interesting and appealing journey of flavors unlike any other red wine. The wine will provide one taste experience shortly after opening, another after airing for thirty or so minutes and still another after an hour.

Flavor notes of Malbec can include plum, cherry, tobacco, cocoa, blueberry, and aromatic herbs. It should be noted that a wine from the same case may taste significantly different when opened several months or years later.

At the lower end the price range Elsa Bianchi Malbec offers up a decent flavor profile at a value price, usually under $10.00 U.S. While in the $10 to $15 range Bodega Septima offers a very drinkable, fruit forward wine with notes of green tobacco initially that give way to ripe fruit and cocoa and has the added advantage of being just as drinkable the next day (and the next) if the unfinished bottle is recorked and stored in the refrigerator overnight.

Also in that range, Graffigna offers another socially friendly Malbec which is rich and fruit forward with notes of cocoa. In particular, the 2005 Kaiken Malbec offered up a surprisingly floral quality on the nose and palate with plenty of fruit.

In the $15 to $20 range Casa Marguery (2006) offers one of the most interesting Malbec experiences around as the wine will literally evolve in the glass. It starts out with that leathery tobacco taste and feel that is common to some Malbecs and slowly blossoms into something softer and cocoa hued until it reaches its smoother fruit forward climax with tinges of blueberry.

The 2005 Graffigna "Grande Reserve" is a bit heavier bodied than its lesser priced cousin but still has some forward fruit and cocoa notes to it. Benmarco has a very earthy nose yet is light with bright fruit and little bitterness in back. The Ricardo Santos 2007 has nice fruit and unusual aromatics that suggest fennel.

In the $20 and up range Poetico offers a very nice soft wine with subtle tannins, good fruit and a slight hint of cocoa. The aromatic Las Perdices Ice is kind of sweet-ish with a rosè-like quality offering a completely different experience than would be expected with Malbec.

Malbec is gaining in popularity as Argentine and other South American bottles make their way to markets across the globe. Avid red wine lovers will surely soon be hooked on this fabulous wine varietal after sampling just a few different bottles.

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Interestingly enough, I didn't like Malbec the first few times I tried it. It was just way too "barn yard." I happened to be at the Saturday afternoon tasting at Bacchanal one weekend and mentioned to an acquaintance that I found the featured Malbec being sampled almost pleasant. We met up for dinner after the tasting and she brought in a glass of wine for me to try that completely changed my perception of Malbec - the Kaiken, mentioned above. That's the great thing about wine, it's one liquid adventure after another.