Thank you EVERYONE for your compliments, comments and questions. It is always fun to do an event/party when I know I will be sharing it with all of you afterwards! Its like you are invited too! I will try to answer some of the questions and please ask again, if I happen to miss something. As for bottles of wine, we started with 6 of our own (with the strange names) and asked the guests to bring a bottle PER COUPLE that they wanted to try (did not have to have a strange name). This is where it got to be a bit much though as each couple seemed to bring 2 bottles, one red and one white and some even brought three! So in the end, there were actually TOO MANY wines to try and we ended up sending some home with them again. I believe DH counted about 12 bottles completely gone and 13 bottles with some out of them. (not including ones never opened and sent back home). I went back and forth on the glass/guest idea. I know myself I like the appropriate type of glass for the appropriate wine but it seemed too hard to get everyone to have 2 types of glasses to carry around. Plus, at the wine tasting event we had attended for years (at local hotel), they always used one glass/guest. I did attach wine charms (used different ribbons on some when I ran out of charms)and was glad about that since I ended up "losing" my glass many times while preparing the hot snacks, etc. Jamie, I am really liking your idea of asking the guests to bring their own glass - that way they can bring a fancy one or one that they don't care gets broken (which happened to two of mine - luckily on the hardwood in the kitchen because it was red wine! - we had lots of carpet stain remover on hand just in case!) This was a TOTALLY unofficial type of wine tasting and just FUN. I don't even know the sweetness codes, etc of the wines we bought (yes, Prosperity, the Red Guitar was a rose but that is about as detailed as I got with it other than where it was produced). It was all about trying them out and having a laugh or two when we didn't like one. By the end of the evening, most guests had switched to other drinks as we also had an open bar set up. DH cranked up the music and there was even dancing - so you can see, this wasn't some "snobby" affair. I totally loved it and will probably do it again next year. It would be easier knowing how the "stations" would go, etc. This sign was totally our "motto" for the evening!

Something I like with wine is a spread I make with equal parts gorgonzola and marscapone cheese, with added toasted walnuts or hazelnuts. This is fantastic spread on crusty whole grain sourdough bread, and with many kinds of wine. Is also nice to add sliced pears. I also like smoky eggplant dip which is made by roasting an eggplant and then peeling it and putting it in the food processor with a small jar of roasted red peppers. That goes good on bread too, and with wine. You can doll it up with whatever other italian condiments you like, but it is good plain too. I also have served Chase's homeade boursin to raves. Since I have an herb garden it is a fun summer thing to serve with bread and wine. Home Made Boursin with Herbs 1 lb Farmers cheese or 1/2 lb cottage cheese & 1/2 lb Ricotta 8 ounces cream cheese 1/2 cup butter,softened 4 large garlic cloves,minced 2 medium shallots,minced 1/2 cup fresh parsley,chopped finely and packed tight 1/2 cup chopped fresh thyme OR 2/3 cup fresh dill chopped finely 1/3 cup chives,chopped finely 1 tsp pepper,freshly ground 1/4 tsp cayenne Blend the cheeses and butter, add the remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Store in small crocks or ramekins in the fridge until well chilled.

A spreadsheet. I'm assuming you do it blind but you dont' have to. One column for the number or letter if you have bagged the bottles (e.g. Wine A, B, ...). Next column left blank for you to fill in the name when you uncover them. Then you can have one large space for notes, or divide that into separate parts too - Visual - you can note clear or cloudy, for reds whether more towards garnet / brown or on the purple side (i.e. possibly younger), lighter seeming (you can see thru) or heavier seeming (you can't), and whatever else you pick up. Aroma - you can record your impressions - does it smell like matchsticks (that's possibly the sulfur added to preserve), or does it smell like vanilla or berries or pineapple or apples or cherries or tobacco or tea or chocolate or green pepper or spice? If you pour a cab franc for example, or sometimes a merlot or cab sauvignon, you get some of those vegetal, green notes on the nose, unless it from a really warm and ripe vintage like Napa California in 2001. Some spice comes from the oak barrels, some toast notes as well. In whites, you get some grassiness, typical in a sauvignon blanc, and in some of them you get a distinct note of cat pee, which you will understand immediately. The visual and aromatic info can give you SOME info about a wine's age, grapes, and origin. But they can also be misleading. Then the larger column for taste - how it is when it hits your mouth, when you taste it, and after you swallow, called the "finish". This is where people get creative, but it is also where you figure out what kind of taster you are. If you take an old red wine, say 25 years or older, you might have a lighter-colored, garnet/brown liquid that you can see through. It will smell like leather and mushrooms and earth and will taste perhaps like dry strawberries, tea, tart raspberry fruit, leather, tobacco, and it will hopefully have a nice long finish that lingers. If you take a much younger one, you might get a dark purple wine that smells and tastes of black cherries, cloves and spice and vanilla and that has a very dry tannic finish that puckers your mouth. Tannin is the slight bitterness that feels chalky. Acid is the tartness that also puckers your mouth, but differently. You want them to be balanced out by the fruit. Younger wines are more fruity in general and these flavors recede in time. And then the last column for your rank or score. You can add one or two more - one for the group's rank or score and then for your rankings, if you didn't rank to start. The easiest is just rank from your fave to your least favorite. Say 1 - 10. That way you know what to buy next time. But this is only useful if you have similar wines. If you taste chardonnay and merlot and some nebbiolo, say, comparing them is kind of useless. In that case, just record your impressions and remember the ones you liked. Cheers.

Invite me!! Hahaha! This recipe goes great with all wine and there won't be anything left!! Blue Cheese Bites 1 pkg refrigerator biscuits ¼ C butter 4 tsp crumbled blue cheese Cut pkg of biscuits in quarters. Arrange in 2 round baking dishes. Melt together butter and cheese till smooth. Pour mixture over biscuit pieces coating well. Bake at 400 degrees for 12  15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve Hot.