Anxious to show off your beautiful new kitchen to your friends? How about turning your kitchen island into a wine tasting bar for a festive holiday get-together. Wine connoisseurs and complete novices alike will get a ‘taste’ of your festive holiday spirit, and an eyeful of your good taste in your newly remodeled kitchen design.

First, send or email a creative invitation. Pick up five to eight types of wine. Consider perhaps a theme in your selection process by selecting  personal favorites, wines from different areas, various brands of Rose’, Merlot or Zinfandel, or a sampling of California wines. You get the idea!  While connoisseurs say that too many variations during the tasting will overwhelm the palette, the wine novices may not be quite so discerning! Once you’ve made your choices, buy two bottles of each wine for each half-dozen guests. This should be enough for a 1 to 1&1/2 ounce taste and a glass afterward.  Keep the wines chilled to between 50  (for whites) and 65 degrees (for reds) so flavors aren’t dulled. For an interesting twist, you might consider wrapping each wine bottle with holiday fabric to hide the labels. Then simply write a number on a sticky label and affix to the fabric of each bottle for corresponding identification later. Your guests may be surprised at which wine they discover to be their favorite.

Considering serving some light hors d’oeuvres as guests arrive and begin to mingle, and heartier hors d’oeuvres or desserts after tasting so no tummies will be ‘growling’. Food will affect how the wine tastes, so it’s best to serve only bites of French bread, water crackers, or plain crispy breadsticks and a glass of water during the tasting to clear the palette between tastings.

Of course, if your guests are all wine novices rather than wine connoisseurs, and the sniffing and swirling are far less appealing than the sipping, you could just ask everyone invited to bring a couple bottles of their favorite wine. Here’s our toast to hoping your new kitchen brings you much happiness and many happy memories for years to come!

If you’re still in the ‘consideration’ stage and looking for kitchen remodeling ideas, Pacific Kitchens is happy to provide a free in-home estimate.  Just give us a call at (858) 277-0701 to request a design consultation.  We look forward to making your kitchen remodeling dreams come true!