Intimate Wine Tasting Party

The weekend before my sister got married, I wanted to make sure I set some time aside for me and my sisters to bond a little.  Since hitting adulthood, we rarely have time to spend together.  Sure, we see each other all the time, but our husbands and kids are always around and we don't often get the time to just be giggly, goofy girls.  Since this is my sister's second marriage, it felt weird to have a bachelorette party, so I invited them all over for an intimate wine tasting party.

I sent the husband and children packing--to grandmas for the weekend-- and my sisters enlisted their husbands for a weekend of single parenting.  We were ready to have a good time!

I had just watched a week of Oprah in Australia, so I was feeling a little "down under" when I went shopping for wine.  None of us are big wine drinkers, so I figured it didn't really matter what type and brand I bought, because the likely hood of any of us having tried them already were pretty slim.  And I thought it was a fun idea to feature wines from the same country.  I chose a Chardonnay by Black Swan, a Cabernet Sauvignon from Jacob's Creek, and a Riesling from Yellow Trail. 

I did some research on what cheeses went well with those wines and paired them together for my guests to sample.  I typed up some note cards to instruct them on what cheese and wine went together for the best flavor match. 

I paired the Riesling with Camembert, the Cabernet Sauvignon with sharp cheddar, and the Chardonnay with mozzarella.  I set out some picks for them to stab the cheese with and then set out an orange for them to "discard" them by poking them into the orange.  That way we knew when a pick at been used. 

I also had some different types of chocolate that I had melted fondue style and had some strawberries, pound cake, and bananas ready for dipping. 

We put on dance music and danced around my living room and acted like we were teenagers again as we laughed like crazy.  We ended the evening curled up on my couches with throws and watching movies until the wee hours of the morning.  Since we had no kiddos to worry about the next day, we all slept in too! 

What a great sisters retreat this turned out to be!  We had a great time shopping the next day and most of all, just spending time together and enjoying each other's company.