Wine Tasting Birthday Party

One of my best friends had her birthday this week, and I threw a Zinfandel wine tasting party in her honor.  I was able to do most everything ahead of time (except cook the pasta), so it made for a fun night with friends and very little "work" during the party.  I bought the cheese at Costco, made the artichoke dipping sauces early in the day, made the spaghetti sauce and meatballs 2 days prior, and all of the tags and paper items in the week leading up to the party.  I got the petitfores from a local bakery: Simon Lee Bakery.  The tray is filled with wine corks that I had in a large vase, and I used a glass plate and 2 glass pedestals to create the main "centerpiece."  The tags are all made with 1 3/4" rounds of paper cut with the Cricut, and I cut the word circles with a 1 1/2" hand punch.  I glued the pieces for the cheese around toothpicks and tied on the wine bottle and glass tags with ribbon. (If you want for me to make these pieces for a party for you, feel free to contact me.)
We used 8 bottles of Zinfandel that I purchased from World Market and Costco.  They ranged in price from $7- $18 each.
Recommended cheeses for a Zinfandel tasting are aged cheddar, gruyere, brie, parmesan, and gouda.  I always have goat cheese and manchego on hand as well, so I added them to the list.  I served a rich spaghetti and dark chocolate petitfores as well.

The bottle on the left was The Watusi and was our least expensive wine ($7.)  All of the other wines were between $10-$18.  Cline, Brazin, Zinfatuation, Bogle, 7 Deadly Zins, Pellegrini, and Sausal.

Cheers!