So in a few days I’ll be attending my second Mary Kay demonstration, this time how to work with color. A few months ago I had gone to a demomstration from a local Mary Kay representative and got hooked. I’ve been using their Time-Wise collection to start the anti-aging process early. I’m 30 now, I need to start at some point! And I must tell you, I definitely see a difference in my skin!
Since I am attending a Mary Kay party soon, I thought I’d feature a similar party that I hosted, only it was all about wine! One of the girls that went to my church and was a youth group leader, Joni, reached out to me about hosting a wine party. She started working with a company, the Traveling Vineyard where instead of having a jewelry or make-up party, you have a wine party! She explains the process of tasting wine, displays different products they have to offer and the foods that pair well with different wines. So I thought, why not turn it into an actual wine party and invite several of my girlfriends over to enjoy the delicious wines that the Traveling Vineyard has to offer!
I started out by searching on Pinterest for wine parties to get some ideas of how I wanted to decorate, different appetizers for everyone to munch on and any printables. I love printables for any party that I host. Printables really add that extra detail to a party and Pinterest has plenty of ideas. I ended up using free printables from a wine party that I found through a Pinterest search. They were perfect!
When everyone arrived, each guest had to guess how many wine corks were in the cork holder and whoever guessed correctly or was close enough, won a prize! Since I hosted this party in June, I had bought a beach-themed stemless wine glass and stopper from Christmas Tree Shops and a bottle of Flip Flop wine for the winner.
I had a table set up as the bar area where I filled a galvanized party tub with ice and placed 4 wine bottles in to chill. Everyone had their own wine glass and the tasting began!
I had food displayed on my dining room table and kitchen island. Joni had given me a list of foods that pair well with the different wines that she was going to use for the tasting, which made it a little bit easier deciding on my menu.
We munched on brushetta, caprese bites, prosciutto and melon bites, hummus and pita chips, spinach balls, stuffed mushrooms, Italian meats, cheese, grapes, cream puffs and truffles just to name a few 😉
The caprese bites are pretty easy to make. You can use sliced fresh mozzarella cut into bite-size pieces or fresh mozzarella balls, which I find is easier. Skewer the mozzarella ball onto a toothpick along with a fresh basil leaf and cherry tomato and drizzle with balsamic vinegar or glaze. Pretty easy! The melon prosciutto bites are of the same token, only use a piece of prosciutto and melon with the mozzarella ball. These are easy, simple and delicious appetizers for any party!
I used the same recipe I’ve always used for the stuffed mushrooms. They are time consuming but delicious and you can never go wrong with stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer!
The spinach balls were pretty good, the only thing I’d have to say is they were a bit salty. If you decide to use this recipe, I’d cut down on the salt or just find out for yourself and decide for the next time.
I used my 3-tier bowl set for green and black olives and hummus. I love hummus paired with pita chips and I love black olives. I could pop them all day long!
I love munching on cheese and grapes while enjoying a glass of wine! I included several different cheeses and 3 kinds of meat along with a basket of assorted crackers.
I also had cream puffs, chocolate and homemade truffles that my mom had brought. Everything was delicious and it was a pretty good spread for a wine party! Joni walked us through the process of tasting wine and demonstrated how to use several products that the Travelling Vineyard has to offer. We enjoyed good food, good wine and great company!
Xoxo,
Katie