A Rooftop Wine Party

I threw a Wine Tasting Party featuring Central Coast Wine and California Fare. Living in LA, my husband and I love taking a 2-hour drive to Central Coast CA to visit the wineries in Santa Ynez, Paso Robles and Los Olivos - and wanted to share some of our favorite wines with our dearest friends.

As a kick-off to summer, the party was held on our rooftop overlooking the city. I rented vintage furniture pieces to give the night a shabby-chic feel, like we were eating al fresco in the middle of a vineyard. I carried the vintage theme into all my paper goods: the Tasting Menu Cards on each place setting, the Wine Coasters labeling each wine, the Dessert and Appetizer Cards, the Party Favors and more. Each place setting had four wine glasses, a mason jar for water, and French herringbone tea cloths for napkins. Peonies filled old wine bottles that I decorated with vintage lace, and re-covered soup cans contained the Sea Salt Grissini. Small globe lights hung overhead providing a beautiful night glow as the sun went down. I also had a basket filled with blankets and pashminas for the guests to wrap up in as the temperature cooled down.

Guests arrived at 7:30pm and were greeted with some sparkling wine and a cheese, dried fruit and nut platter. I had a small lounge area set up so guests could chat, eat and drink easily.

The tasting portion of the evening started at 8:30pm, where guests tried 4 different wines paired with 4 fresh, farmer's market dishes. The 1st pairing was a Viognier paired with Grilled Nectarines, Burrata, Toasted Hazelnuts and garnished with mint. The 2nd pairing was a Rosé paired with Homemade Pizza, Fresh Basil Pesto, Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions. The 3rd pairing was a Pinot Noir paired with Salmon topped with Lime Butter Sauce and Sautéed Asparagus. The final pairing was a Syrah paired with Grilled Flank Steak and a Spicy Pepper and Watermelon Salad. As if that wasn’t enough food, there a dessert table filled with mini delights: Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes, Mini Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt, Brownie Bites and not-so-mini Rice Crispie Treats.

On the invite I asked each guest to bring one of their favorite bottles (under $25) for the Bottle Swap - so each guest went home with someone else’s favorite to try. As the party favor, I packaged my favorite wine gadget (Haley’s 5-in-1 corker) for each guest to take home with their bottle from the Bottle Swap. It was a fabulous night of good friends, food and conversation!

• Desserts

  There was a dessert spread filled with miniature classics. Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt, Brownie Bites dusted with powdered sugar, Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes with homemade cream cheese frosting, and not-so-mini Rice Crispie Treats with extra marshmallows.

• Activities / Games

  On the invite I asked each guest to bring their favorite bottle under $25 for the Bottle Swap. When guests arrived they were able to sign their bottle, then placed it in the vintage bottle rack. On the way out they took someone else's favorite to enjoy. To go along with the wine theme, the party favors were Haley's 5-in-1 Corker which guests took home with their wine bottle.

• Best Moment

  When guests first walked upstairs, the view of the mountains and city contrasted with the vintage, rustic feel of the wine party seemed to captivate everyone.

• What People Ate

  Guests arrived at 7:30pm and were greeted with some sparking wine and a cheese, dried fruit and nut platter. The tasting portion of the evening started at 8:30pm, where guests tried 4 different wines paired with 4 fresh, farmer's market dishes. The 1st pairing was a Cold Heaven Viognier paired with Grilled Nectarines, Burrata, Toasted Hazelnuts and garnished with mint. The 2nd pairing was a Demetria Rosé paired with Homemade Pizza, Fresh Basil Pesto, Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions. The 3rd pairing was a Alma Rosa Pinot Noir paired with Salmon topped with Lime Butter Sauce and Sautéed Asparagus. The final pairing was a Rusack Syrah paired with Grilled Flank Steak and a Spicy Pepper and Watermelon Salad. As if that wasn’t enough food, there a dessert table filled with mini delights: Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes, Mini Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt, Brownie Bites and not-so-mini Rice Crispie Treats.

• What People Drank

  Greeted with Sparkling Wine during the appetizers. For the Wine and Food Pairings, the wines were: Cold Heaven Viognier, Santa Ynez, 2009 Demetria Grenache Rosé, Santa Ynez Valley Estate, 2010 Alma Rosa Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills, 2008 Rusack Syrah, Santa Barbara County, 2008

• Funniest Moment

  With 80 wine glasses and 20 mason jars full of water, by the end of the night the table was becoming a dangerous glass minefield! As guests became more animated we had a couple of knocked over glasses and a few really great saves!

• Chris Green

  Caterer

  Chris works independently, please email me directly for contact information.