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Host a Wine Tasting Party or a Bubbly Soiree for Awards Season

Added the beloved day of January 5, 2008  -  Add to your del.icio.us

Darlings, if you're in the States, you just endured a week of college football bowls, and now you only have a few more hoorahs and "You're so taking me to see 'Atonement' for filthing the house with that nacho-burrito-beer stank!" arguments left in you before the BCS Championship on Monday. Fortunately, on Tuesday you can turn the tables... Replace nachos with Camembert and Crotonese, burritos with spring rolls and Ghirardelli chocolates, and beer with vino and bubbly. Toast fashion, stars and good times with friends. Awards season finally begins, so host your own pretty party!

Of course, with the writers' strike we'll have to wait to see how many award shows in the U.S. will actually go on as planned. Let's hope the strike ends soon! Don't give up, writers!

Awards Season Calendar

- People's Choice Awards® - Jan. 8, CBS 9PM (EST)
- Golden Globe® Awards - Jan. 13, NBC 8PM (EST/PST)
- Screen Actors Guild Awards® - Jan. 27, TBS/TNT 8PM (EST)
- British Academy Film Awards - Feb. 10, BBC1
- GRAMMY Awards® - Feb. 10, CBS 8PM (EST/PST)
- Academy Awards® - Feb. 24, ABC 5PM (PST)/8PM EST

Pretty Prep for Wine Tastings or Bubbly Soirees

Whether you're making it an intimate affair or are setting up your own velvet ropes, the best parties are usually the simplest in scope. However, we know determining just the right scope for your party can be tricky, especially when expensive varietals are involved. So we suggest determining the size of your guest list first so you can better gauge how to prepare. Are you planning to invite close friends only? Allowing friends to bring friends? Can everyone afford to bring a bottle of wine? Should everyone chip in the same amount of money for you to buy the booze beforehand? Do you want a petite splurge or a fantastic flight of oenophilia?

With these questions in mind, we hope you'll find our list of suggestions helpful. For more wine party tips, please read this fabulous article by Stacy Slinkard.

Start With a Wine Tasting Kit
Although there are plenty of Wine Smarts Games on the market, we prefer this pretty and pinkful Wine Tasting Party Kit, which is better suited as a complement to awards-watching. It's perfect for a party of five or six, or five or six couples. Ask each guest or couple to bring just one bottle of wine, and you're set. The kit costs $25.

For $30 you also can buy the equally tasteful SWILL Wine Tasting Party, which was recommended by one of our readers. Thank you, Eva!
- Buy Wine Tasting Party Kit online
- Buy SWILL Wine Tasting Party online

Venture California's Best Selection
For a regional flight, one of our favorite gift sets from wine.com includes "six super-premium bottles of Cabernet, Zinfandel and Merlot that capture the rich tastes and flavors of California wine." Of course, the cost for the set is $149, but split amongst six to ten guests the price is quite a deal. As a bonus, 'The California Directory of Fine Wineries' is included to help you discover more varietals from the Golden State.
- Buy California's Best Selection online

Break Out the Bubbly Recipes
If you're up for bubbly sweet cocktails, we recommend snagging The Bubbly Deck, which includes 40 fantastic recipes for champagne cocktails, like Raspberry Truffles and Champagne Sunsets. Simply include a recipe card with each invitation and ask the guest to bring the extra ingredients, if you like. You can always sort through the recipes to avoid duplication, or you can have your guest handpick their favorite recipe beforehand. The deck only costs $13.99.

If you're a purist concerned about fouling good champagne with a drop of anything, we recommend buying Cristalino NV Brut Cava, which was ranked #3 on wine.com's Top 100 in 2007. At $8-$10 a bottle, Cristalino tastes more expensive than it costs, yet you won't feel as guilty using it as a mixer.
- Buy The Bubble Deck online
- Buy Cristalino NV Brut Cava online

Go Glam With Dom and Godiva
If simplicity is best, then why not go for elegant simplicity? Gather a small group of your closest friends and make awards night a celebration for yourselves, not just the stars. Share your dreams with one another and then promise to try to achieve them. Toast your promise with only the best, Dom Perignon, complemented with Godiva chocolates. The pictured gift set costs $199, but you and you friends are worth it.
- Buy Dom Perignon & Godiva 18-Piece Signature Truffles online

Nibble on Gourmet Cheese
If you ask all your guests to bring a bottle of wine, then you can set up a spread of crackers and cheeses for a truly gourmet evening. One of our favorites, igourmet, has a good selection of cheese samplers focusing on regions, ranging from $27-$90. We particularly liked the French sampler with Pont l'Eveque, Buche Chevre, Chaource and Gruyere de Comte, to try something new. Another suggestion is just to skip to dessert and a get a cheesecake sampler, instead. Mmm.
- Buy igourmet Cheese Samplers online
- Buy Cheesecake Samplers online

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