In 2022, we (the humans of planet Earth) drank 232 million hectoliters of wine.
(Hectoliters being equal to 26 gallons, for those unaware.)
That’s a lot of wine! Previous years also show that we have no plans to decline a glass. So there’s a market for your next event, the red and white kind.
While we love a good ‘wine and cheese pairing,’ it’s become a bit bleh — everything that wine is not. It’s time to bring some innovation to the space and make the most of this target audience.
At Eventbrite, we’ve worked with event organizers of all sizes. From legends like Duck Club to niche creators like The Red Feather, we help connect standout events with active eventgoers. That’s why 30% of tickets sold are driven by Eventbrite discovery.
In this article, you’ll discover the best wine tasting party ideas that encourage drinking in moderation while having fun with friends, and attendees will want more where that came from.
10 Innovative Wine Tasting Party Ideas For Event Organizers
1. Chardon-heyday: ‘Hollywood golden-age’ wine tasting event ideas
2. Prosecco pizzazz: A ‘pizza-making workshop’ wine tasting party
3. Nebbiolo noir: A ‘who’s dunnit dinner’ wine tasting party
4. Derlot: ‘Desert decorating’ wine party ideas
5. Viognier voyage: ‘Glass from around the world’ winery party ideas
6. Grenache gala: A ‘luxury art and fashion’ wine tasting party
7. Zinfandel zen: A ‘healthy treat’ organic wine tasting party
8. Cabernet cabaret: Ideas for a wine tasting party with a show
9. Moscato Mixer: A ‘speed date’, wine-taste
10. Tempranillo twilight: A ‘backyard concert’ wine tasting event
1. Chardon-heyday: ‘Hollywood golden-age’ wine tasting event ideas
Effort: 💪💪
Cost: 💸💸
Creativity: 🌟🌟🌟
For your next wine tasting party, crank up the Great Gatsby vibes and let your wine steal the spotlight.
Book in a low-lit, sexy underground bar like Death and Co. and roll out a cascading red carpet leading to the venue doors.
Set up intimate tables with pristine white tablecloths and decorate them with taper candles. Enhance the ambiance by scattering glistening faux jewels around the venue, and hire a jazz band to set the stage for an evening of fun.
Specify on your event registration form that all attendees must come dressed to impress, taking inspo from 1950s fashion.
To hype up your event on Instagram and TikTok, use golden-age Hollywood stars, like Marlon Brando, as marketing material.
You can also center your event on a famous film from the era, as WineStyles Cedar Rapids did with their Francis Ford Coppola wine tasting event. Hook up a projector, and show a reel of classic Hollywood films, like ‘Some Like It Hot.’
💡Pro tip: Take the night to a new level by investing in vintage wine glasses. Then, place a QR code at the bottom of the glass, so when attendees finish sipping, they can scan the code and find out more about the wines they’re tasting. You could even give attendees the option to buy a bottle directly from your website at a discounted rate.
🍷Wine of the night: For an exceptional evening, you need an exceptional drink. Try serving French champagne chardonnay or Italian Chardonnay with hints of kiwi and pineapple.
2. Prosecco pizzazz: A ‘pizza-making workshop’ wine tasting party
Effort: 💪💪
Cost: 💸
Creativity: 🌟🌟
There’s only one way to make a pizza-making workshop even better: with prosecco.
If you run a restaurant, then this idea will be a piece of cake for you. If you don’t, then why not collab with an authentic Italian restaurant, like Macoletta, which regularly hosts pizza-making workshops?
The vibe of the night will be a laid-back workshop filled with laughter, music, and booze — like a ‘chill out’ with close friends.
The ‘pizza chef’ can demonstrate various techniques, like how to make dough from scratch and what topping works best together. You can throw in some info about prosecco, like what type of grapes each tasting comes from and how to tell the good quality prosecco from the ‘I woke up with a hangover after one sip’ variety.
💡Pro tip: Send attendees home with a complimentary voucher to buy the prosecco. Include a personalized, hand-written note addressed to each attendee thanking them. This thoughtful gesture will help foster a sense of connection with your guests.
🍷Wine of the night: Prosecco will be the main character of the night, but make sure you keep the selection nice and light so attendees don’t fill up too quickly before feasting on a heavy meal.
3. Nebbiolo noir: A ‘who’s dunnit dinner’ wine tasting party
Effort: 💪💪
Cost: 💸💸💸
Creativity: 🌟🌟🌟
Red wine looks a whole lot like spilled blood, which, to an inventive creator like yourself, spells fun.
For your next wine tasting party, encourage attendees to spill the ‘wine’ with a murder mystery dinner feast. Partner with a local theater company and give the actors full creative freedom to think up the most scandalous, horror-filled play. It’ll have your attendees on the edge of their seats.
After all, the juicer the plot — the better the wine will taste.
For example, at Creative Learning Society’s murder mystery dinner, they hired actors to perform a story-driven skit and included ‘goofy challenges’ for the audience to complete. You can do the same by creating an immersive experience in a ‘haunted house’ like the Belcourt of Newport, complete with old, dusty furniture, spider webs, and a chandelier.
The night will be filled with more twists and turns than a Christopher Nolan movie. Attendees will turn out to be actors, plates of food will be ‘poisoned’ by the murderer, and clues will be plastered under seats.
The theme of the night: Trust no one except the Nebbiolo.
💡Pro tip: Lean into the spooky vibe and host the dinner outside in the middle of an ‘enchanted’ forest. Base the story on a folktale filled with werewolves, vampires, and fae, and weave the wine tastings into the plot. For instance, one glass could be a ‘healing potion,’ and the other a ‘truth serum.’
🍷Wine of the night: Showcase Italian red wines from Barolo and Barbaresco with rich flavor profiles, full bodies, and deep reds. Opt for aged varieties in oak barrels for an extended period — you want your selection to scream bold and robust.
4. Derlot: ‘Desert decorating’ wine party ideas
Effort: 💪
Cost: 💸💸
Creativity: 🌟🌟🌟
We all know that wine and chocolate are a match made in heaven, but simply handing out chocolates at your wine tasting party is a bit… boring.
Instead, let attendees bake and decorate their chocolate creations. By the night’s end, your event will be so filled with chocolate treats that Willy Wonka would be jealous.
First, choose a small venue with access to kitchen tools, like Murrays’ Cheese shop, and set up long tables with cooktops, saucepans, and baking ingredients. Next, invite a local dessert legend from a popular bakery to lead the workshop.
Show attendees how to make three delicious desserts where chocolate is the hero, like exploding chocolate pudding, chocolate chip cookies, and triple-choc cake.
While the event is in full swing, pour a glass of wine to accompany each dessert. To increase profitability, offer a more expensive ‘all you can drink’ package or an ‘I’m the designated driver’ special — a non-alcoholic alternative with just as much flavor.
💡Pro tip: After the event, offer attendees a short cookbook filled with the recipes from the night and the names of the wine, and sell it for a small fee. You can even ask your local celebrity presenter to sign the front covers with a personalized message.
🍷Wine of the night: Demonstrate how diverse Merlot’s flavor profile is by including both heavy-bodied and light and sweet styles. Just make sure each Merlot is thoughtfully paired with the desserts.
5. Viognier voyage: ‘Glass from around the world’ winery party ideas
Effort: 💪💪
Cost: 💸💸
Creativity: 🌟
Give attendees a chance to travel around the globe in one night by embarking on a ‘global wine-tasting tour at your wine party.
Partner with local restaurants and wineries in your local area. You can even hire a party bus to take attendees to the next location so they can drink without worrying about transportation.
It’s our call if you want to narrow down your event by the wine selection or the geographical area. For example, the PA Market hosted a ‘Pinot Noirs From Around The World.’
If you aim to cover a long distance, why not turn it into a three-day event? Explore the world’s southern regions, then transport your attendees to the north. Collaborate with restaurants offering different cuisines that match where grapes originate, and curate a special ‘taster menu’ just for your attendees.
Not gonna lie. That sounds just as good as a trip around the world!
💡Pro tip: If you host your event in a wine region outside the city, you could host a ‘riding wine tour’ where attendees ride horses or bikes that take them to different wineries in the area.
🍷Wine of the night: If you have to choose one wine as your star, you can’t go past a classic viognier. It’s a dry white wine grown in South America but also in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, so it ticks the box of being ‘worldly,’ and it’s also famous for pairing with food.
6. Grenache gala: A ‘luxury art and fashion’ wine tasting party
Effort: 💪💪
Cost: 💸💸
Creativity: 🌟
Wine, creativity, and art are the ultimate triple threat.
That’s why your next wine party will be a night filled with an underground fashion show, works from local artists, and (most importantly) plenty of bottles of wine to taste.
But because you’re an event innovator, you won’t settle for a regular fashion show. Oh, no… this night will be an ode to independent art.
It’ll be a deep dive into the world of the weird and wonderful — think wild costumes and abstract paintings with very ‘subjective’ meanings.
In your social media marketing campaign, highlight that attendees can expect strobing lights, atmospheric droning music, and live performers from avant-garde dancers and experimental musicians.
You can even pull a ‘Prada’ and have attendees sit on the floor during the fashion show. Get inspired by MUSICCI’s high-end luxury fashion shows and only feature handmade clothing by local designers.
To put an extra fun spin on the night, ask to match each fashion designer’s pieces to a different wine and get a model to pour from the stage into attendees’ glasses. A little wine might end up spilling on stage — but hey, that’s all just art as well.
💡Pro tip: Find attendees who live and breathe art by posting your event listing on an event discovery platform, like Eventbrite. Rather than relying on marketing to a broad demographic on Facebook or Instagram, create targeted ads on Eventbrite so that anyone searching keywords associated with your art show can find your event.
🍷Wine of the night: For a sophisticated art crowd, you need an elegant and easy-sipping wine, like a Spanish Grenache. Its rich, flavorful profile will wow attendees, but it’s not too heavy, so they can indulge all night without feeling sluggish.
Level up your marketing by reaching a specific niche
7. Zinfandel zen: A ‘healthy treat’ organic wine tasting party
Effort: 💪💪
Cost: 💸
Creativity: 🌟
Sure, you’ve hosted many wine parties in your time, but have you ever created one for the health fanatics out there?
Picture this: You organize a three-hour health retreat — the perfect mini wellness escape. Start with a relaxing yoga session, then introduce a 30-minute ‘indulgence’ class that pairs wines with healthy snacks, like bliss balls, raw treats, and house-made protein bars. Finish with a soothing sound bath, complete with a complimentary ‘healthy’ wine tasting as the ‘dessert.’
Take a leaf out of SpiritQuest Sedona Retreats’ book and host small group sessions in the beauty of the wilderness or near a wild waterhole, and encourage attendees to take a dip after the wellness party.
Alternatively, find a vineyard with a rustic vibe, like the Fruitland Valley Vineyard and Winery, and offer a farm-to-table brunch as an add-on feature.
💡Pro tip: Find local wellness brands to partner with, such as small organic skincare brands, and offer a VIP ‘wellness bundle package’ ticket option. Create promotional content and ask them to share it on their channels to help you reach new audiences and expand your reach — it’s a win-win.
🍷Wine of the night: Mix organic zinfandel with kombucha, a beauty elixir, and fresh fruit to make a collagen sangria.
8. Cabernet cabaret: Ideas for a wine tasting party with a show
Effort: 💪💪
Cost: 💸💸💸
Creativity: 🌟🌟
To give attendees an experience they’ll never forget, create a wine tasting event with the allure of the cabaret.
Make a booking with an established cabaret show venue, like the Red Velvet Burlesque and Cabaret Show, bring plenty of bottles of cabernet to taste, and set up a wine tasting party with a show.
Start the night with an hour-long session of wine tastings, a Q&A with the winemaker, and live music. Once your guests have tried the entire selection, ask them to write down the number of their favorite tasting and bring over a small complimentary glass.
Then, as if by magic, a well-executed surprise will appear. The lights dim, and the cabaret show begins. During the intermission, you can give attendees the chance to buy a bottle of wine for their table paired with theater snacks, like popcorn, nuts, and ice cream.
💡Pro tip: Incorporate a cabaret theme and arrange the venue and your decorations to match. For example, for a ‘prison escape’ cabaret, set up ‘cells’ that attendees will be ‘locked in’ for the night. Their only chance at escape? Correctly guessing the variety of wine they taste.
🍷Wine of the night: Stick to a rich and velvety Cabernet Sauvignon to complement the enchantment of the evening.
9. Moscato Mixer: A ‘speed date’ wine taste
Wine is the secret ingredient for good conversation and fun times, but did you know it can also be used as a love potion?
That’s right! So, for your next wine tasting party, why not ignite the flames of love by organizing a wine tasting party that’s also a speed date mixer event?
Set up a row of small, intimate tables for two next to each other and set up a timer. After 2 minutes, ring a bell and encourage attendees to move on to the next table until all your participants have become acquainted.
A new glass of wine magically appears for each new partner you match an attendee with. So even if they have nothing in common and are counting down the minutes until their next rotation, there’ll always be a new wine to discuss.
💡Pro tip: Although it might sound unusual, we’ve found that when it comes to dating, the weirder you make the event, the better it turns out. For example, The Tantra Institute hosts speed dates involving Tantra yoga, and they boost a 94% match rate. Coincidence? We think not.
🍷Wine of the night: Only serve the best selection of dessert wines and Moscato to allow attendees to use a sickly sweet pickup line, like ‘wow, this Moscato is sweet…but not as sweet as you.’
10. Tempranillo twilight: A ‘backyard concert’ wine tasting event
Transport your attendees to a beautiful vineyard in Italy with an enchanting twilight concert event.
Picture this: You create a rustic and relaxed atmosphere by placing fairy lights on an undercover patio surrounded by trees. Then, you invite a local solo guitarist, band, or musician to serenade the evening as guests savor exquisite wines paired with cured meats, breadsticks, and fresh grapes.
It’ll be like catching up with family over a glass of wine on a hot summer night. Honesty, that sounds like heaven to us.
Get inspired by event organizers like Youngebloods Vineyard, who host intimate events like a barrel-tasting, wine, and gourmet grazing board to create a laid-back vibe.
💡Pro tip: To make your event even more intimate, put soft blankets on each attendee’s chair and a set of classy pajamas they can change into for the evening, creating a cozy yet sophisticated ‘night in’ experience.
🍷Wine of the night: Treat guests to a full-bodied Tempranillo — a wine perfect for sipping all night.
Get creative with your wine tasting party themes
For your next wine tasting event, think so far outside the box that your attendees will be mind-blown (and amazed) by your talents.
Once you’ve perfected your idea, use Eventbrite to target new attendees and market your event.
With actionable data insights and AI integration, Eventbrite can help you streamline your social media and email marketing campaign to boost ticket sales and build a loyal community of recurring attendees.
