How to Host a Memorable Wine Tasting at Home With Westport Rivers

You may not always have a reason to get your friends and family together at your home, but with this guide from Westport Rivers Vineyard & Winery, treating your guests to an unforgettable wine tasting is the perfect excuse to spend the night in.

Here are the three things you'll need to host your own, memorable wine-tasting:

1) Pick the wines you would like to taste. Depending on the number of attendees you'll have, you can select a number of diverse bottles including Westport Rivers' award-winning sparkling wine, a dry riesling, a chardonnay, and their popular white blend, Five Dogs. Finish off your tasting with their delicious Sun and Spirit dessert wine. If it is a small group, perhaps pick a sparkler, a still and the dessert wine.

2) Choose food to pair with the wines. The RJR Brut and their reserve Blanc de Blancs is delicious with local oysters. Their Mayflower sparkling wine is magical with BBQ or a sausage and roasted pepper pizza. Chicken teriyaki is a nice complement to the dry riesling. Five Dogs is excellent with spicy dishes and the Sun and Spirit dessert wine is decadent alone or drizzled over vanilla ice cream.

3) Choose the correct glassware. Westport Rivers' sparkling wines should be served in a champagne flute. The long stem allows one to hold the glass without impacting the temperate of the wine. The inward taper and smaller opening is designed to retain champagne's signature carbonation by reducing the surface area for it to escape. The flute ensures a cold and carbonated sparkler: It's the KEY to an enjoyable sip.

For chardonnay, you want a larger bowl shape to allow the wine to open up which tempers some of the oak (if used). Moving on to Dry Riesling and Five Dogs, a slightly smaller opening is preferred that will hold the delicate aromas in the glass.

Finally, there are two other glasses pictured below. The smallest stemmed glass is perfect for Sun and Spirit, which should be served in a smaller glass as most prefer a three-ounce pour for this high alcohol content wine. Finally, why not take the tasting outside for a bit and pour a wine in a stemless glass? They are easier to handle and you can set them down on a nice, smooth rock without worrying that your expensive Riedel stemware will fall down and break.

ALL Westport Wines are 30 percent off right now for wines that are picked up at the store. Curbside pickup is available. Westport Wines also is offering FREE shipping on four or more bottles of wine. (No additional discounts apply to either promotion).

Ready to place your order? Visit westportrivers.com for more information or to purchase wine.