Holiday Party Ideas with Wine

wine 101

By Rachel Thralls, CS

It's time to get creative with your holiday party plans! We've got some tips and tricks for hosting fabulous holiday parties all incorporating great wine ideas! The holiday season is the perfect time to expose your family and friends to new wines from all around the world! 

White Elephant Wine Dinner Party 
Instead of doing a traditional white elephant gift exchange with, let’s face it, stuff nobody needs, why not do a white elephant wine gift exchange! I recommend having a budget of $25 and tell everyone to bring a bottle of a favorite wine. Have fun running a traditional white elephant exchange and let people steal away those bottles of wine! I recommend two wines that everyone will love, that go with a variety of food and both under $25!

{Rachel’s suggested wine picks}

Choose either the Coppola Director’s Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast or the Coppola Director’s Chardonnay. Both wines are smooth, easy to drink and pair wonderfully with a variety of foods! For this fun themed holiday party, I recommend a potluck and have everyone bring an appetizer or fun finger food.

Wine & Food Pairing Stations
Everyone loves appetizers and small bites and they are the perfect foods to host with, especially when you have a larger crowd! Your guests can spend more quality time mingling around and visiting with friends while trying different bites of flavorful foods and sipping wine. The key to larger dinner parties is crowd control. Set up different tasting stations around your house that focus on variety and put different wines at different stations. Choose a variety of sweet, savory and healthy bites so that everyone is happy and so that you can have a variety of wines to pair with those foods. 

{Rachel’s suggested wine picks}

For a wine and food pairing party, it’s important to have all different types of wines since there will be many different food flavors. Stock up on a variety of popular, food friendly wines such as Coppola Sofia sparkling wines to pair with the cheese station; Sauvignon Blanc to pair with vegetables and hummus dips as well as small salads; Chardonnay to pair with bite size quiche, deviled eggs and grilled chicken skewers; and the Coppola Rosso & Bianco red blend and the Coppola Director’s Cut Zinfandel to pair with a pizza station!

Not sure how much wine to have on hand? Depending on the size of your party, prepare for over a half-bottle per person. 20 people? 12 bottles. 40 people? 2-3 cases of wine (12 bottles per case).

Holiday Pigs & Pinot Dinner Party
Everyone loves a delicious Pinot Noir, especially when it’s paired with pork! This holiday season, host a Pigs & Pinot Noir dinner party! You can choose from a variety of pork dishes including a roasted pork loin, grilled pork tenderloin, slow cooker mini pork sliders, stuffed pork loin, porchetta, or honey glazed pork chops.

{Rachel’s suggested wine picks}

You can’t go wrong with a Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley in Sonoma County or a Reserve Pinot Noir that pairs wonderfully with a roasted pork loin or stuffed pork. For a more casual Pigs & Pinot party, that might include some mini pork sliders and the Diamond Pinot Noir from the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County.

 
Holiday Cookie Exchange Wine Party
Everyone loves a holiday cookie exchange party so why not make it about wine too?! Invite your guests to bring a plate of their favorite holiday cookies, enough to nibble on at the party and for guests to take home too! As the host, provide the wine for guests to sip on as they try out the cookies! Think wines don’t pair well with holiday cookies? Think again!  

{Rachel’s suggested wine picks}

• Chocolate chip cookies paired with Merlot
• Sugar Cookies paired with Sparkling Wine or a Late Harvest Semillon
• Spicy Ginger Bread cookies paired with Riesling or Gewürztraminer
• Shortbread cookies with Chardonnay
• Peanut Butter cookies with Petite Sirah Dessert Wine