Your usual wine and cheese spread deserves an upgrade. After hosting countless girls’ nights over the years, we’ve learned that the most memorable evenings happen when you shake up the formula. Sure, you can stick with the reliable wine and food pairings, but why settle for predictable when you can create something extraordinary?
These four unique twists on your wine tasting girls night will transform your next gathering from routine to remarkable. Explore more below!
Blind Tasting With a Surprise: The Mystery Wine Challenge
Skip the traditional blind tasting and try this: each guest brings a bottle wrapped in a paper bag with only the price visible. You’ll taste and rank wines based purely on flavor, then reveal the bottles. The shocking moment when that $12 bottle beats the $40 one never gets old.
Create scorecards with categories like “smoothness,” “complexity,” and “would I buy this again?” The winner gets bragging rights and takes home everyone’s second-favorite bottle.
Wine and Chip Pairing: The Unexpected Match
Forget crackers—let’s talk chips. This pairing sounds unconventional, but the results will surprise you. The salt and crunch create incredible flavor contrasts that enhance both the wine and snack.
Try these winning combinations:
- Kettle-cooked potato chips with Chardonnay: The wine’s buttery notes complement the chips’ richness
- Spicy nacho cheese Doritos with Rosé: The wine’s sweetness balances the heat perfectly
- Sea salt and vinegar chips with Sauvignon Blanc: Both share that bright, acidic punch
- Barbecue chips with Cabernet Sauvignon: The wine’s boldness matches the smoky flavor
Want to really change it up? Get some of Canada’s wildest chip flavors and see how spicy dill pickle chips go so well with a Riesling. And at the end, you’ll find yourselves debating whether Pringles actually pair better with Pinot Noir than traditional charcuterie.
Paint and Sip Gets Personal: Custom Wine Labels
Transform your living room into an art studio, but instead of painting landscapes, design custom wine labels. Provide blank labels, markers, and glitter (because everything’s better with glitter). Each person decorates labels for the bottles you’ll open that night.
Watch as “2019 Cabernet Sauvignon” becomes “Sarah’s Divorce Wine” or “The Bottle That Survived Mom’s Visit.” You’ll create keepsakes that make perfect conversation starters at future gatherings.
Wine Trivia Tournament: Test Your Knowledge
Create teams and prepare wine-related questions ranging from basic to ridiculous. Mix serious wine knowledge with pop culture references. Questions like “Which wine pairs best with pizza?” alongside “What wine did Olivia Pope drink on Scandal?”
Award prizes for winners: wine accessories, funny wine socks, or gift cards to local wine shops. The competitive element adds excitement, and everyone learns something new.
Ready To Raise Your Glass?
These creative approaches prove that wine night doesn’t require expensive bottles or elaborate spreads—just imagination and willingness to try something new. Your friends will appreciate the effort you put into making the evening special, and you’ll create memories that last long after the last bottle empties.
