So putting our collective heads together, we have instead decided to do a wine tasting night at home, where our collective money can be better put to wine and goodies to eat. Each of the three families will bring a new wine to try (we've decided to stick to all whites), a couple of appetizers, and fruit or desserts to share. What a great way to have fellowship, try something new - and still be frugal!
First, some of the appetizers: (total cost, roughly $30)
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| Just add sour cream and mayonnaise! |
- Cheese and Crackers
- Guacamole (home-made!) and Chips
- Veggies and Dips
- Olives and Garlic
- Chocolate for dessert
- Roquefort to go with the dessert wine
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| Delicious Mango dip (recipe on the back of the bottle) |
We decided to do whites for this weekend, and save reds for another time. A "traditional" wine tasting would start with the lighter whites, progressing toward the heavier reds. Since we were doing it our own way, we stuck with whites.
Next, the wines... (Total cost, minus the Sauternes, - it was a gift - but including the sparkling white, roughly $40)
Left to right, we have the...
- Apothic White - a "Winemaker's Blend" with Muscato grapes, the Muscato gives it a slightly sweeter taste
- a Chateau des Palmiers Sauternes - Jeff's favorite little dessert wine that we were given as a gift for Jeff's graduation
- Yalumba Viogner Chardonnay - from "Australia's oldest family-owned winery"
- Wente Chardonnay - from San Francisco Bay in California, this was the driest of our four here, but (I thought) quite tasty
The cost breakdown: About $70, split between three families still means we spent less than we would have if we had gone to the local wine event!
We also had a sparkling white, but I don't have a picture of that one. There is value in jumping out there and trying new flavors, but not in breaking the bank. Looking forward to Red Night!
What are your favorite goodies for Wine Night?
A coworker told me the wine in the woods event is always so packed that it isn't worth it...and you can't really even get to the samples without a long wait in line. It is mor like a grab and go wine sale.
ReplyDeleteThat was largely our experience the one year we went too. Definitely too expensive to have made it worth our while! The company we had here was better too!
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