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."

Thanks so much for all your comments and suggestions! You people are all so helpful even just to bounce ideas off of. gasuz, thanks for that link, I found it very interesting and helpful. That site mentioned going with a Tuscan or more wine-decor theme for the event rather than Christmas which is very appealing to me. Maybe next time, lol! Kathleen, those wines are not familiar to me but gave an idea to check out some local vineyard websites which were good too. We decided to go with a humourous twist and we bought wines with funny names, apparently, they are good though. Some examples are "Dirty Laundry", "Red Truck", "White Truck", "Red Guitar" "Goats do Roam" and "Gnarly Head". Two are from California, one from Spain, one from here in B.C. and I forget the others right now. Jaybird, glad you enjoyed the event you went to. It sounds fantastic! I so wish we had a bigger house when it comes to things like this. Our stations will prob be quite close together but I do hope to do a different appetizer/snack at each one. Prosperity, why am I not amazed you have a "wine site"? LOL! You must be so busy with all your sites! Is there a link you can post to it, or is it just in its beginning stages? I will give you feedback on how it all turns out. Mo, YUMMY!! Now I could really get into a choc tasting party!! Hmmmm, the wheels are turning....maybe that would be a fun "ladies" thing to do one day. Haven't heard of a cost-plus store, those chocs would be a great idea for the dessert station. Thanks again for all your input! I best get busy with all the preps to this as well as my Chritsmas decor. What have I done to myself! I don't usually start decorating until the last wknd of Nov. I shouldn't feel bad though as I don't know how YOU all do it with Thanksgiving in there as well, at least that is over for me! DD

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.

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.