girls night in :: summer wine tasting

Happy Friday, friends! How is it already the last Saturday in July? Ohmygaaaah, this month flew by. Literally, blinked. We've had some fun and I'm sure you saw where I posted about a fun girls night in/wine wasting we had earlier in the month.

Well you know I looooove to entertain! A group of us gals get together almost every month and I've been wanting to host a wine tasting since well, forever. Oh and because they all love wine just about as much as I do ;) I tried to keep it light and refreshing since we are mid-Summer heat. It was very casual/laid back, which is always our style. Can I get an amen?

I was overwhelmed at first when scouring Pinterest, but it's actually very simple/fun to pull off!

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

WINE:

• Riesling
• Sauvignon Blanc
• Rose
• Pinot Grigio
• Chardonnay
• Cabernet (you wouldn't even have to do a red wine if you wanted to keep it light and all white, but I already had several bottles, so I put them out!)

CHEESE (and I've also listed which wines it pairs with!)

• Swiss ( = Riesling)
• Havarti (= Sauvignon Blanc)
• Gruyere (= Sauvignon Blanc) 
• Goat Cheese (= Rose and for this I made the Strawberry Goat Cheese Crostini and it was delish, so click link for recipe. TIP: there's spreadable goat cheese - yes it's a thing so don't get the regular that's not aseasy to spread. Also,  I omitted the fresh basil/mint just because I forgot)
• Mozarella (= Pinot Grigio and funny story, I aaaalso forgot the mozzarella (you'd think I'd learn to make a list, right?)  so I was thankful my friend brought the mozzarella/salami/prosciutto roll ups) 
• Brie (= Chardonnay) 
• Parmesan (= Chardonnay or Cabernet)
• Extra Sharp Cheddar (= Cabernet) 

MISC: 

• Water Crackers
• Merry Cheese Crisps - I had gotten these in a gift basket for Sugar's 10 Year and saved them for the perfect occasion :) They're delish and available at Main Street Market if you're local!
• Stacy's Five Cheese Pita Thins - I'm hooked on these. So good.
• Stacy's Garlic Bagel Bites

Friends brought desserts and other dips/etc... so we would have more apps. One friend makes this amazing artichoke pizza , which was so good with everything. We filled up quickly before our movie!

I found these cute melamine trays from TJ Maxx. $7.99 for a pack of two!

my little bowls are from World Market and I wrote out a cute quote on a chalkboard + added my wine box from Tuscany from way back when I studied abroad in Italy.

The biggest asset, which I already had, was the black Kraft paper that we had used as wrapping paper a few years ago! I found some HERE that you could purchase inexpensively. I'm so glad I didn't throw it away. It was so easy to use a chalk pen to label everything and make an easy (quick!) tablescape.

also Rewined candles are the BEST!

and seriously, you HAVE to try this crostini. SO good. I'm craving it again!

If you try a wine tasting this Summer, let me know.

CHEERS!