wine tasting party

We had such a fantastic and fun evening with our 6th annual wine tasting party!

Great food, great wines, and some of my most favorite people on this earth!

I enjoyed putting the table setting together. 

Our theme this year was California wines. 
We put together a play list of the Mamas and Papas, Chris Isaak, Frank Sinatra, Ray LaMontagne and a few others....just a fun Cali vibe.

I  made a simple burlap table runner and added some turquoise ribbons to run the length of the runner.

  The invites were sent out a couple weeks before.  
I used fresh sunflowers and mini pumpkins for part of the centerpiece. 
The real centerpiece was the wine- I used the wire basket to hold all the wines for the evening.

I just love the pear pitcher- we used it for refilling the water. 
I made numbered wine bag covers out of unbleached linen fabric. 
Tomorrow I will show you how easy they are to make!

Everyone starts the evening by covering the wine they brought in the bags provided- I always keep them by the front door.

I provided a wine cocktail to start out the evening as our friends arrived.
Autumn Punch:
Gewurztraminer
Cran-apple juice
sliced plums
grapes

I used white dinner plates and a colorful appetizer plate. 
 The napkin rings were made out of some craft wire that looked like twigs.
The bee glasses were for water, and our wine glasses were with the buffet of food.

The lineup of wines ready for tasting- we had 6 in all!

The menu board.....
and the food:

Sinful Chocolate Cake....
I will post the recipe for this on Friday!
It is one of my most requested items- super easy, and everything you want when you have a craving for chocolate cake!! ♥

Mark made sure he didn't let any go to waste!!


After all the eating and tasting, we revealed the lineup.  We opted not to do the tasting cards and rating this year, and just enjoyed talking about the wines and had some good conversation.

the girlies:
L to R: me, Lois, Tiffany, Janie

Our very handsome hubbies!

 L to R: Mark, Rex, Jon, Brian

And finally, our resident cleaning lady:

Bella always does a great job of sweeping  cleaning the floors after the party is over.

:)

I hope this inspires you to try your own wine tasting party! 
They really are so much fun and so easy to do.
Fall just always seems like a great time to do it.

I hope you had a fantastic weekend!

Linking to:
Just Something I Whipped Up
Motivated Monday at Be Colorful
Motivate Me Monday
Market Yourself Monday
Made By You Monday
Anythingz Related
Crafty Soiree
Centerpiece Wednesday at the Style Sisters