Best Wine Tasting Party Themes

These unique wine tasting themes will make your party a hit!

Anyone who has ever hosted a wine tasting party knows how delightful they can be. Perfect for bringing together family, friends, and loved ones, good times are sure to abound.

However, what do you do when you're the one who is tasked with being the host? You wrack your brains for themes for a wine tasting party, but it seems like all of the unique wine tasting themes have been done before. You want the night to be a smash hit, but your mind is going blank.

Luckily, we here at TheWineBuyingGuide have plenty of ideas for a wine tasting party for you to peruse. Your friends will be talking about this get-together for weeks thanks to your fun wine tasting party themes. There are plenty here, so there is sure to be something to satisfy every friend group. Don't let wine night be a bore!

Best Wine Tasting Party Themes

Regional

Choose a country, such as France or South Africa, or a region, like the Napa Valley. Try the top 4 or 5 wines from each location! (And remember to have plenty of the appropriate wine glasses for whatever wines you select.)
Old World vs. New World

Compare Old World wines (European, lighter-bodied, exhibiting more herb, earth, mineral and floral components) to New World wines (non-European, riper, more alcoholic, full-bodied and fruit-centered). Are you a classic wine lover or a more modern one?
Bold Flavors

Choose fruity, big, bold flavors from around the world. Tasting similar wines together makes sure that you can best detect the differences between them, whereas drastically different wines would shock your palate.
Elegant Flavors

Choose light red wines and enjoy the subtlety and depth.
Price Wars

Offer up 50% inexpensive wines and 50% pricier ones. For an extra-fun wine tasting party game, wrap the bottles in foil so you can't see the labels and have your guests attempt to rank them from least to most expensive.
The Best Under $20

Choose the best wines under $20 (or $15 or even $10.) How do they measure up?
Wine & Chocolate

A classic combination! Just make sure not to use a Hershey's bar off the shelf--a ridiculously high blast of sugar is not a good pairing for any wine. Match intense, fruity wines with high cocoa content quality chocolate. Some chocolate makers, such as the Swiss company Lindt, have even listed suggested wine pairings themselves!
Local Love

Sample less commercial choices by supporting local wineries. Pair this with snacks obtained at your local farmer's market. There is probably gold hiding right in your zip code!
Vertical Variations

Purchase one wine across the vintages--say, 2004, 2005, 2006, etc., all the way to the most recent vintage. This is an excellent test of skill for experienced sommeliers, but also fun for beginners.
Blind Tasting Party

This is a classic idea when it comes to themes for a wine tasting party! Make sure to hide the labels on the bottles, and enjoy these bottles of wine without any preconceived notions or judgments. You can turn this into a competition if you want, or you can just enjoy. For beginners, it also may help to print some short descriptions explaining the wines' qualities and flavors.