TIPS

  Get some interesting facts about wines and the wineries in Santa Barbara to toss out now and again.  It makes you look smarter and gives your guests the impression that they're enjoying something really hot -which they are!

  Stop by a tasting room and ask which wines are hidden treasures.  We visited several during our travels and found the staff to be well educated and enthusiastic about SB County wines.

Or choose a winery that offers a spectrum of wines that you really enjoy and feature their wines exclusively.  Mosby Wineries, for example, consistently produces excellent Cal-Ital wines (they also share their wonderful recipes so you can get a jump start on your menu.)  Out of the five we tasted five were excellent.  Plam/Mission Meadow also fell into the five for five category, but it really depends on your tastes.

  Serve a variety of palette cleansing foods such as crackers, cheeses, and fruits in addition to whatever main meal or finger foods you're planning.  Make sure there's chocolate for the Cabernet Sauvignon - they're natural best friends and the best 'bad day fixer upper' we know about.

Get or make glass IDs.  Most tasting rooms sell them and it's very easy to make your own.  This will cut down on how many glasses you have to wash at the end of the night.

Provide ceramic jars and pitchers of water so tasters can rinse or dump as they choose.

Remember the light whites to dark reds procession of tasting, leaving the sweeter desert wines.

Don't forget the desert wines - there are several excellent late Rieslings produced in the county that would be a shame to miss.  Also, Buttonwood's winemaker Michael Brown also offers a few bottles under his Kalyra label that would be a great addition to any after dinner lineup.

Don't pour the glasses as full as you might want.  Guests can ask for more if they really love a wine but five or six tastings should equal a glass of wine.

Make sure to have information available on the wineries.  You probably aren't going to go into commissioned sales for the winery, but the idea behind a tasting party is to sample wines you might not normally get to sample.  A computer printout of the wines and the wineries that produced them would be a nice touch - as would be leaving room for the guests to write their notes!

As with anytime you serve alcohol, designate drivers, take keys and keep a couch or two available.  The point of tasting parties isn't inebriation but everybody has different tolerances.  One glass of wine can effect some people very strongly.

As the host, you shouldn't drink much, if anything.  It will allow you to keep a clear head and maintain your judgment.