Masquerade Party

When choosing your red or white wines, you should know what to look for. Each bottle of wine is as unique and special as each party guest – so order a wide variety to please many palettes.

The most safe and popular white wine choice is Pinot Grigio or Pinot Gris. It is Italy's claim to fame as the grapes in Pinot Grigio offer a light and crisp taste which delights both the wine connosieur and wine beginner.

The red wine most sure to win over your guests is Merlot. Merlot is in the Bordeaux wine family and the grape is the most widely planted, making it a versatile choice.  While some red wines can have a harsh or bitter taste, Merlot is gentle to the taste buds. 

For more wine tips visit our Wine Tasting Party page.

Masquerade masks are beautiful, ornate and elegant. Don't spend a fortune buying authentic masks from a party store for your guests. Instead, make your own masks with materials you already have in your home.

Gather up the following materials:

• Sturdy, heavy-duty disposable plates (think cardboard so that you can cut them)
• Popsicle sticks for the handle of the mask
• Sharp scisscors
• Hot glue gun
• Black marker

To make the base of your mask:

1. Draw the shape of the mask, including the eyes, on the back of the plate with a black magic marker. You can either trace the same shape for each guest's mask or make all different shapes and sizes.
2. Cut out the mask using your scissors, using care when cutting out the eyes.
3. Hot glue the popsicle stick to the back of your mask, set off on the left or right side.  Test it on yourself and make sure the eyes on the mask line up to your own eyes.

Now for the fun part – decorating! Use the following unlikely materials to make the most outrageous and original masquerade masks:

• Lace/Ribbon
• Buttons/hooks
• Foil/wrapping paper/magazine cut-outs
• Old jewelry/gems/rocks
• Glitter/nail polish/puffy paint
• Feathers
• Fake/dried flowers

 

Purchase your wines about 10 days before your party using Ambrosia Wines. They have their wines conveniently sectioned off by wine type and price. Figure each guest will probably have an average of 3 to 4 glasses throughout the night and order a few extra bottles as prizes for this game.

On the day of your Masquerade Party, chill your white wines in a refrigerator about 45 degrees Farenheit and let your red wines breathe (uncorked) at room temperature.

When it is time for the wine tasting, make sure all the labels on the wine bottles are well covered or "masked." You can do with by creating an actual Mardi Gras mask for each bottle or by simply covering the label with colorful craft paper.

After each guest has decided if he would like to taste test the red or white wines, place a small taste of each wine in front of each guest (they will most likely have 4 glasses of all red or all white wine in front of them). You can keep track of which wine belongs to which glass by using stickers or wine tags. The guest to guess all four types of wine correctly wines a bottle of his choice!