A great way to explore different wines on your own pace, learn which you want to stock-pile and those you can't stand, all without travelling to wine country.

1. Choose a format. A vintner tasting is one where you focus on one vintner or winery. Start tasting with the lighter wines, move to the heavier main-dish wines, and end with their desert wines. In a vertical tasting you taste the different years ("vintages") of the same wine varietal from the same winery.

For home tasting parties, Winegirl prefers a “horizontal tasting”* across a few vintages. Select the varietal, or type of wine grape you want to concentrate on, say Petite Syrah, and offer about 4-6 different brands or (2-3 with different vintage years) to taste the differences. This is a great way to compare the same varietal across wine makers and across the territory ("terroir").

2. Determine how many bottles to buy. Know that one bottle provides about 4-5 glasses of wine. If you have 12 guests, and everyone wants one full glass of each wine, you need 3 bottles of each wine.

3. Select snacks that complement your wines and friends. Winegirl doesn’t follow the “red goes with meat, white goes with fish” adage –you like what you like. But, just like certain sides go better with some entrees, different wine characteristics match or "pair" better with certains foods.

• Suggested white wine tasting menu (like a Chardonnay): foods with a light buttery taste. A mixture of crackers and mild cheeses, chicken wings, fruit, lobster dipped in butter, pasta with white, pesto or butter sauces.
• Suggested red tasting menu (like a Merlot): crackers and sharp spicy cheeses, fruit, veggies with a cheesy dip, cold prawns and cocktail sauce, cocktail meatballs, finger pizzas.
• Just about any dessert goes with any wine, in my opinion. Chocolates and fudge are particularly great with red wines. But this is also a great place to try dessert wines.
• Check here for a local grocery chain's online food and wine pairing tools.

4. Presentation. Just ask a kid, nothing spells fun more than themed décor. Get invitations, napkins, plates with theme to match. Set a main table with a tablecloth to display the wines your serving. Have wineglasses ready for guests and personalize with wine rings so no one loses their glass. Include a pitcher of water for those who want to rinse their mouths and glasses between each wine. Make sure the water is not too cold as to stun taste buds.

5. Tasting note cards are a handy way for you and your guests to keep track of what you like and don’t like. Make sheets that list each of the wines you’re serving and leave room for notes. Or, create a grid with some wine characteristics along the top, such as “fruity” “dry” “full bodied” “bold” “crisp” “tannic” “spicy”, that can be checked off.

6. Arrange for rides and cabs home in advance, with scheduled pick up time. If your friends know that it is expected in the beginning, they will go along. I’ve known too many drunk people who didn’t want to impose on their host by waiting 45 minutes for a cab, or dealing with leaving their car behind.

7. Party!

* "How do you drink horizontal?" "How fast do you get horiontal after winetasting?"