What a beautiful coaster! The table is very inviting, and the menu has me wishing I could join you! Thanks for sharing even tho I'm drooling a bit on the keyboard. How the heck do some of you gals find guys that COOK? Mine thinks its a big deal if he heats a can of soup and fixes himself a sandwich. Sheesh. Considering how much I hate cooking, its rather unfair of Life give me a guy who doesn't do it. LOL. (and too late to trade him in since this Fall will be our 40th anniversary.) hugs, Karen "I used to be lost in the shuffle. Now I just shuffle along with the lost."

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!

Here's some info that I got on that subject for future reference (I've not done any). Two different parties. One with labels not covered, and the second has the option of having the labels covered (this one sounds really interesting). Party One Lay a table with eight to 12 cheeses, at least three different wines, bread, crackers and fruit accompaniments, and perhaps a bowl of olives or some nuts in the shell for guests to crack. For a more formal tasting with real cheese lovers, make individual tasting plates and serve two or three courses of cheese with selected wines and accompaniments; for instance, you could start with a selection of cow's and goat's milk soft and semisoft cheeses, strawberries or peach slices and a baguette with a dry white or light-bodied red wine. Follow with an interesting array of aged firm and hard cheeses, dried figs and apricots, and hearty rye bread, accompanied by a full-bodied red wine. Then serve a plate of blue cheeses, pear slices, walnut bread and a glass of port. Finish with a dessert of Medjool dates accompanied by a fresh cheese, such as mascarpone. ******************** Party Two Cheese Party Forget serving cheese as a simple hors doeuvres  this culinary delight makes an exquisite entrée at any party. Read on for ideas and tips on how to make your cheese party a crowd pleaser. Invitation Ideas For the perfect cheesy invite, cut yellow card stock into a triangular shape. Using a hole punch, make several holes in the slice of cheese, so it resembles Swiss cheese. A cheese party is perfect at cocktail hour or later. Decorations Keep the décor simple, yet elegant, taking inspiration from a European vineyard. YouÂll want the wine and cheese to be the highlight, so use white linen on the tables and accent with red, burgundy, green (use dried grape vines and a variety of washed grapes as a centerpiece) and silver or gold (think napkins, napkin rings, wine glass charms and coasters). If you live in a home with several rooms available for the party, decorate each room with by theme (France, Italy, England) and serve corresponding wine and cheese in each area. Label each cheese with a ceramic or metallic label, or to improvise, use "Hello my Name is" stickers (stick two together on either side of a toothpick). If youÂre serving a variety of cheese from various countries, try a miniature toothpick flag for each cheeseÂs origin and handwrite the name of the cheese on the flag. Playlist Ideas Match your music to your menu by playing music from the countries of the cheese you select. For inspiration, try these: French: Serge Gainsbourg, Air, St. Germain-des-pres-Café collection, Amelie soundtrack British: Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand, KT Tunstall, James Blunt, Kate Bush Italian: Andrea Bocelli, theme from Life is Beautiful, La Dolce Vita soundtrack, Il Postino soundtrack Canadian: Sarah McLachlan, Sarah Harmer, Daniel Powter, Chantal Kreviazuk, Ron Sexsmith, David Usher, Shania Twain, Our Lady Peace, Melissa OÂNeil, Barenaked Ladies or Sloan Cocktail/Menu Ideas Cheese plate: A gourmet cheese plate will impress guests and let them mingle as they try a variety of cheeses (set each cheese at a different table or room). Select five types of cheeses  and just adjust the quanity of each depending on the number of guests. Try to choose at least one type of cheese from each category (ripe, semi-soft, semi-hard, hard, blue) and type (cow, sheep, goat). Tip: Let cheese sit at room temperature at least an hour before serving (unwrap from plastic or paper first) and serve cheese whole, allowing guests to cut their own piece. Beverages: For a sensational experience, pair each cheese with a complementary wine. For example, match soft cheese with champagne or white wine, blue cheese with port, hard cheese with fuller-bodied reds. Tip: the more pungent the cheese, the sweeter the wine should be. Try to match the region of cheese with a similar wine (ie Italian Amarone with Parmigiano-Reggiano or an Ontario wine with Thunder BayÂs Thunder Oak, an artisanal gouda). For a non-alcoholic option, serve apple cider or low-acidity tea (avoid fruit teas), both of which can be served hot or chilled. Cheese fondue: In addition to the cheese plate, set out a cheese fondue [link to Foodtv.ca recipe] using a medium-sharp cheese (such as English cheddar). Arrange fondue spears or long wooden spears to dip artisanal bread, crudités (pickles, baby carrots, mushrooms, picked cauliflower), cubed ham and fingerling potatoes. Dessert Cheesecake makes a thematic end to a savoury meal by adding a touch of sweet. Try Mocha Cheesecake or Philadelphia Lemon Bumbleberry Cheesecake for a twist on the traditional, or, to give guests variety, make miniature cheesecakes (in mini muffin pans), and set out bowls of toppings (blueberry, strawberry and cherry sauces) for guests to create their own concoctions. Party Activities To get guests in the spirit of all things cheesy, test your guests knowledge by not labeling the cheese and having them guess the variety or each, or make a playlist on your iPod of cheesy 90s musicians (Kenny G, anyone?) and have guests guess the artist. Favour Ideas Tie pretty fabric ribbons in a variety of wine-and-cheese inspired colours (think merlot, silver, gold, dark green) around an assortment ornate cheese knives and place them in a wire basket so each guest can help themselves to one when they leave.

I think a lovely wine stopper would be a great hostess gift, perhaps even a seasonal one. I saw some beautiful snowflake stoppers the other day for $10. As for the appetizers, that all depends on how serious a wine tasting group this is. I have been to serious wine tastings ( boring!) and the only food was hunks of bread and water crackers...like I said ...boring! LOL Having said that you really don't want to take away from the wines. You can't go wrong with cheese. Perhaps bring one really special cheese and some water crackers or baguette slices. Make sure it's not a fancied up cheese with all sorts of flavourings. Another choice is a selection of really good olives. Even though they are strong flavoured they do seem to go well with wines. Another good choice would be some extra special olive oil and baguette slices for dipping.