Wine & Cheese Tasting Party

While I was up North visiting my family, a few of us decided to have a Wine & Cheese tasting party. Each couple brought two bottles of wine - one bottle they have tried and enjoyed and another bottle that they have never tried. Each couple also brought two types of cheeses to sample with the wine. What a fun party! Such an enjoyable and affordable way to taste multiple wines and cheeses and fit in some much needed socializing. I put out a fruit tray, cracker/ baguette tray, home made bruschetta, and a few yummy preserves including jalepeno & fig. The food complemented the wine really nicely.

Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time to be taking photos, but I'll tell you about the ones I did take photos of! The first one was a Pinot Noir from Quail's Gate. None of us were overly impressed with the wine - it just seemed to taste a little flat. Here are the tasting notes though - I'll let you decide for yourself!

"This wine exhibits super bright fruit aromas of pure cherry with a gravelly
mineral complexity, savoury spice and lingering fragrance. The supple and
steadily balanced cherry flavour runs on layers of fine tannins, finishing long
and fresh. Tempt your taste buds and pair this wine with grilled salmon with
roasted beet salad or quail over pancetta and baby arugula.2005 Limited Release
Pinot Noir"

The one wine that we tried and LOVED was a 2009 Malbec from Argentina (Funky Llama). It was deliciously smooth and flavorful! There wasn't a lot of information online about this wine, but I found these notes on Examiner.com:

"The juice itself is in fact fit for a party – surely nothing too serious.
It'll go down easy with a burger or pizza on a Sunday night. You'll taste notes
of cherry, blackberry and pepper. While it's not overly complex, it's a decent
choice if you're going low-budget."

Overall the tasting party was a great success! It was an awesome chance to socialize with family and great friends. I would love to have another tasting party, but would likely make a few changes - first thing - I would coordinate on types of cheese that each couple brings - we ended up with a couple of duplicates on the more popular cheeses like the Applewood Smoked Cheddar. :) Yummy though! Do you ever host wine tasting parties? If so, do you have any rules or guidelines for making sure they're a success? Would love to hear what you think!

Thanks for stopping by!