GNO – a champagne tasting party

Champagne always brings the fun. As soon as there’s champagne involved it elevates the situation to a level of “special”. Why not make it all champagne all the time? That’s exactly what we did with a champagne tasting party for a girls’ night out. Let me show you how to throw a Champagne tasting party.

I co-hosted this champagne tasting soiree with my friend, and we had a group of 12 ladies, who enjoyed a fabulous evening of bubbles, nibbles and fun. By following some of these simple ideas and tips you can do the same thing.

inspiration for a champagne tasting party

My friend and I belong to the French Bubble Club at Chateau Sonoma in Sonoma, CA. Originally we had planned to enjoy the champagne as couples throughout the year, but unfortunately the boys don’t seem to have the same affinity to bubbles as we do.

We have been in the club for over a year now, and we have accumulated quite a bit of champagne, which promoted this champagne tasting party idea. Consequently, we decided to share our bubble stash with friends, which included 9 bottles which are hi-lighted in the data sheets below for each bottle {we only got through 4 -5 bottles by the way}. We were highly ambitious.

guidelines for a champagne tasting party

Invitation | Announcement

Set the tone for your tasting party before it even begins. Your formal invitations will show it will be a super special affair. We actually sent a save the date informally first, shortly followed by an invitation requiring RSVPs so we could plan accordingly. We were pleasantly surprised to have all our ladies attend.

Beverage{s}

Regardless of the gathering, having plenty of beverages for all the guests is always imperative. Since this is a Champagne tasting fete, we made sure to have plenty of bubbly {like I mentioned above we had 9 bottles for 12 ladies 🤩}. Always try to offer the best you can afford to pamper your guests. We were lucky in this circumstance, since all these selections had been curated by the Chateau Sonoma French Bubbly club.

We also had still and sparkling water available. Make sure your beverages are always served at the right temperature. We had plenty of ice and made sure the champagne was chilled ahead of time.

Glassware

This is a super important detail for me. I believe the correct vessel should be used for the appropriate beverage. Since we were serving champagne we served the guests in champagne flutes. You can also use champagne coupes if that’s your preference.

Also, since every glass is identical we made sure to label al the glasses with a name tag. I made these super cute wine charms with everyone’s name, using Dollar Tree chalkboard tags. It was easy, and it helped me keep track of my glass a few times during the evening.

Notes & Information

If you are truly wanting to have a “tasting” party make sure you have all the pertinent information for each bottle. Information like, winery, vintage year, flavor notes, etc. We were fortunate to have these cards, which were provided by the French Bubbly Club with each bottle.

Providing this information helps guests identify what they like or do not like from any wine variety. Hopefully, some people find varieties they want to seek out and purchase on their own.

Party Trick | Special Treat

Every gathering should have a party trick or special treat to get it going and set the mood. Since we did not want to pull out the saber trick, 😉 we chose to kick off the affair with a special champagne cocktail instead. Besides, we had my friend’s son pouring our drinks and he’s only 16. Since he just learned how to open a champagne bottle the traditional way for this affair, we didn’t think the saber trick was a good idea.

My friend chose the Mockingbird cocktail, which was refreshing and delicious. We chose to use Rose Champagne varieties in the cocktail, since it made the cocktails pink, and pretty and girly. Perfect to set the mood for our GNO champagne tasting party.

Food Pairings

The food you provide at any gathering should compliment the drink if possible. We were lucky to get some guidance from the notecards provided by Chateau Sonoma, which listed food pairings for each champagne bottle.

My girlfriend and I made all the food ourselves. We made all finger food and plenty to go around. Women tend to like to nibble a little of a lot of different things. We also made sure to have a balance of savory and sweet choices.

Ambience

You also want to set the mood with a pleasant setting. This will put your guests at ease and ready to have fun! We held the champagne soiree in my friend’s garden, which is a beautiful setting. We were fortunate to have lovely weather, which did not require pulling out the blankets or striking up the heaters once the sun went down. Although we had it all at the ready, if it was required.

The setting itself was lovely but we also included touches that always elevates any venue. There were candles lit everywhere, and fresh potted mums, strung twinkle lights, a great playlist and more. The devil is in the details so make sure all your details are on point. Also make sure there is plenty of seating and that conversation clusters can be made. By the end of the night we had all pulled chairs around one area so we could all be together. Love that!

champagne tasting inspiration

I hope this gives you some ideas or inspiration on how to plan your own champagne girls night out. It was so much fun! But like I said bubbles always bring the fun. Here is a list of the food we prepared:

• Cheese & Charcuterie Board
• Finger Sandwiches {pesto caprese; cucumber, egg salad}
• Caesar Salad individual whole leaves
• Shrimp Cocktail
• Truffle Popcorn
• Chocolate covered Strawberries
• Chocolate covered Almonds
• Jordan Almonds

Here are other champagne inspired cocktails I have shared:

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“Champagne is one of the elegant extras in life.”

Charles Dickens

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sharing @ between naps on the porch