So you’ve decided to dive in and host a wine tasting party. Good for you they are lots of fun and relatively easy parties to plan and host. One of the ways to make the planning and the hosting of the party easy on yourself is to choose a theme for your wine party.

Here’s some great themes to consider for any wine tasting you’re hosting. Throw in some cheese and a few appetizers and you’re set.

“Horizontal Wine Tasting”

In a horizontal tasting you are focused on one wine variety from a single year yet from multiple vineyards and producers. For example, you could focus on a 2003 Chenin Blanc from four to six different wineries.

“Vertical Wine Tasting”

Vertical wine tastings are conducted by tasting one wine variety (such as a Chenin Blanc) from the same wine producer but from several different vintages (years). With this type of tasting you get a feel for a particular producer’s varietal style and composition.

“Priceless Wine Tasting”

Priceless tasting keeps the bias out of the wine tasting game. With this type of wine tasting the price of the various wines are withheld. Your tasters are able to be completely objective about the wines because they do not know if they are drinking a $120 bottle of Cabernet Savignon or a $10 bottle of Cabernet Savignon.

“Price Point Wine Tasting”

This type of tasting features wines in a similar price range. For example you may choose to serve different varietals of Cabs in the under $20 price range or Merlot in the under $40 range. There’s a lot of flexibility in this type of wine party. The goal is to keep the wines comparable in baseline price.