host an olive oil + wine tasting party // entertaining

at the end of last year when we visited Temecula, i brought home a set of olive oils as a souvenir. ryan and i had a little taste the night i got home, and ever since then they've been sitting in our kitchen, staring at me daily, waiting for their chance to shine. since i picked up the taster kit, it came with 3 different flavors that i thought would be perfect for a tasting!

i paired them with a selection of skinny girl wines, bread and a cozy coffee table set up to host a simple tasting. here are my tips for hosting your own at home!

bring out the wine! start with your lighter wines paired with the more simple olive oils (say a rose with a basic olive oil) and move up to the more bold flavors in the end. i poured glasses of prosecco as something to sip while getting comfortable and held off on the wine for the tasting.

now, i learned a lot in my first olive oil tasting in temecula. i always thought they would serve it with a ton of bread (how i typically eat olive oil and vinegars!). NOPE. you straight up drink it. BUT. i like to think after a tasting them on their own and discovering all of the different flavors, it's okay to enjoy with bread. 

set out small tasting dishes with spoons. i labeled each to keep track. pour a small spoonful per guest, taste and discuss. just like wine tasting, it's fun to talk about all of the different flavors each person picks up in the different types of olive oil.

don't forget to give your guests a place to write down and remember their favorites for purchasing later. i tied up 2 note cards with a tassel, one for wine notes and one for the olive oil.

pass around the wine, the bread, the oils… eat, drink, be merry.

what are your tips for hosting a wine or olive oil tasting?

 olive oil purchased from temecula olive oil company

// skinnygirl wine provided in consideration for this post //