The wines of Italy have magical names and flavors to match. Hosting a tasting of Italian wines will create a wonderful theme.

Italian food is the most popular cuisine in the world. The wines of Italy are some of the best-loved wines in the US. For wine tasting parties Italian wines are perfect. They offer a wide variety of wines, that range in price from budget to expensive.

Your tasting can include the golden wine of Orvieto, the friendly Frascati, sunny Soave, classic Chianti, and the king of red wines--Barolo. The choices are great.

The first thing to decide is how formal you want your tasting to be. You can make it educational, where you and your guests learn about the wines you are tasting. It can be informal, where the guests are free to roam and taste the wines in any order they prefer.

For more formal tastings, it is best to have a smaller group. With larger groups, the tasting will become a party that happens to focus around wine. If you want this to be an organized tasting, invite fewer guests. This allows for everyone to share their impressions of the wines.

If you want a lighthearted wine tasting, invite as many people as you would for a not-too-crowded party. Everyone should be able to meet in one room. Your guests should have enough room to move around the room, trying different wines.