Holiday Parties & Wine

We may still be eating leftover turkey sandwiches, but here at the Georgia Winery we are in the Christmas spirit! Every Saturday from now until Christmas, we are hosting our Santa’s Wine Workshop here at our tasting center. We will have wine tasting, great holiday sales, and any gift basket you could want. All WE want for Christmas is to spend some time with YOU! We love getting together with our friends and family to revel in the spirit of the season, so we’re sharing a few of our favourite ideas for some fun, festive, family-friendly parties you can throw this season, too!

TREE TRIMMING PARTY

Invite your friends, family, and neighbours over for this open house-style party to get into the holiday spirit by helping trim your Christmas tree! Put up a tree (or two!) before the party, and organize all the trimmings (ornaments, garland, tinsel, candy canes, etc) for your guests’ convenience and ease. Set out a few boxes of fabric or other non-breakable ornaments for little guests, too.

For this type of casual, festive party, the focus is on visiting with your family and friends, so keep the rest of the party simple with some finger foods, hot drinks, and holiday music! Set out some trays of decorated cookies and light hors d’oeurves, and serving up some eggnog or mulled cider. And don’t forget the mistletoe!

If you’ve been invited to a Tree Trimming Party, it’s always a sweet gesture to present a hostess gift when you arrive with your family. Anything thoughtful that can be used during the holiday season is the perfect token of your appreciation, like a bottle of wine or glogg, a small poinsetta, or even an adorable ornament to be placed on the tree, like the ones below:

Wine Glass Ornament, $8.95

Metal Cork Cage Ornament, $16.95

All of our holiday ornaments are available in a variety of colours and designs, for every style!

 COOKIE EXCHANGE

Everyone loves a plate of homemade Christmas cookies, but few of us have the time to bake a variety of cookies during this busy holiday season. The solution? Host a Christmas cookie swap, where each guest brings several dozen homemade cookies to share! Your guests bring either half a dozen or one dozen of one type of cookie for each other guest and one dozen extra for sampling, plus copies of their cookie recipe. You set out a dozen of each batch for nibbling, then each guest gets to take home a variety of delicious homemade cookies from the remaining treats.

Make sure to have plenty of cookie boxes lined with parchment paper for guests to transport their cookies home, and keep some paperclips on hand for those cookie recipes. Serve up glasses of wine (or hot chocolate for younger guests!) and some simple antipasti alongside the selection of cookies. Our favourite wine picks for both savoury and sweet bites are our Catoosa County White, Lemon Drop, and Southern Blush.

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

With such busy schedules, sometimes it’s difficult to find the time to attend all the holiday parties during the Christmas season. This is why a Holiday Open House is the perfect idea for getting together with your family and friends around the holidays! Guests are invited to stop by your house at their leisure throughout a specified time frame, where they are met with a warm reception and festive spirit.

Go all out with your holiday decorations, and play your favourite Christmas music throughout the house. Set out cheese and cracker trays, appetizers, and other snacks, and consider sending guests home with a prettily wrapped assortment of the same Christmas cookies you serve on the dessert buffet. As far as refreshments go, an icy holiday punch or a make-your-own hot cocoa station (with whipped cream, candy canes, cinnamon sticks, and chocolate shavings) is perfect for all ages, while hot mulled wine gets every adult into the holiday spirit! Here’s our recipe for the winter favourite:

MULLED WINE

• 1 bottle of red or white wine (like our Concord)
• ½ bottle (12 oz) water
• Brown sugar to taste (¼ – ½ cup)
• 1 Wine Country Mulling Spice bag

Remove card from spice bag, leaving cork for flotation. Combine wine, water, sugar (if needed) and spice bag in pan or crock pot. Simmer slowly (do not boil) for at least one hour- the longer, the better. Serve warm and enjoy!