Creating a Holiday Wine Cellar For Your Seasonal Soiree

It's official. The ugly holiday sweater party has run its course. It was fun while it lasted, but nobody really wants to see the hideous design your Aunt Mabel created for you again this year. It's time to come up with a new theme for your holiday party, one that is different and engaging. Wine is becoming more popular with every year, and since it is such a natural partner to parties and celebrating, this is the year you start a new tradition: the holiday wine cellar party.

Of course, this doesn't mean you actually have the host the party in your basement. Unless you're fortunate enough to live in a home that has both a Gothic style cellar and an amazing way to keep it warm, most people aren't going to be too interested to sip their Syrah or guzzle their Gewürztraminer while sitting on top of your washing machine. However, you can do the next best thing with a little bit of decorating and a lot of imagination.

Part of what makes a successful party is creating a sense of flow. By encouraging people to move about the space, it relaxes them into talking with your other guests and having a good time. Throughout your living room, dining room, and even your kitchen (where, let's face it, every good party ends up), set up separate wine cellar stations. Each station should consist of three or four of the same bottles - a Cabernet station in the dining room, a Chardonnay station in the family room, etc. - with a short written description of the wine itself, a pitcher of water and a place for people to dump the water after rinsing their glass. You can decorate with small decorative wine barrels and a display of grapes, and also set out appetizers that pair specifically with the wine at that station.

The reason why you want to keep each varietal separate is that guests will be intrigued by the concept of the party and move themselves from one area to the other. Just be sure that you have uncorked all of the bottles ahead of time, so if you are not handy to a station when a bottle empties, your guests will not have to uncork the wine themselves. One final suggestion to help ensure the success of future parties to come is to ask each of your guests to bring a bottle, as well. Put out markers for people to sign and date each bottle, and then store them in a cool, dry, dark area until next year. You can use these new bottles as the selections for next year's varietals and your guests will be encouraged to come back year after year to see and enjoy their previous year's wine.

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