Casa Pena Designs: Tapeña Wine Party: Preparation

Monday, May 9, 2011

Tapeña Wine Party: Preparation

Lots to do for our big wine tasting party and I am so excited! Tapeña Wines sent us a great party pack full of goodies for our party. Included was our mail in rebate form for the wine, AMEX gift card for $25, a great tapas recipe book, wine opener, napkins, decorations, Spanish spices, tasting cards, magnets, and wine charms.

I prepared goodie bags for our guests to showcase a few of the items Tapeña provided and included a few other Spanish items:

Tapeña wine charms
Tapeña magnets
Tapeña Mail in Rebate form
Clementines (Spanish citrus fruit)
Seeds to grow Spanish herbs

I made lists of everything I wanted to serve and everything I need to buy to make that happen. Spanish foods are surprisingly hard to find. I enlisted the help of La Tienda - an online Spanish store where we have ordered from in the past. I needed to order jamon serrano, dry-cured and cooking chorizo, and sweet smoked paprika. The package arrived 2 days after I ordered it - now that is service!

Here is a run down of tapas I will serve:

Goat's Cheese with Fig Spread
Manchego y Serrano
Paprika Spiced Almonds
Spanish Olives
Roasted Asparagus
Chorizo Empanadillas
Tortilla
Fried Garlic Bread and Chorizo
Potato Wedges with Roasted Garlic Dip
Roasted Red Pepper Dip

I also had to find the wine, which was much easier than finding the Spanish food. A local liquor store had a great stock of Tapeña Wines and even had them on sale for $7.99 a bottle. I knew I wanted a case so I asked if they could offer me a discount for buying in bulk. They obliged and gave me another 10% off for purchasing a case (12 bottles). When I got home, I filled out and mailed in my rebate form that Tapeña provided which was $66 off of 12 bottles of wine. This brought the final price per bottle down to $2!!! You know how I love a deal and this was a great deal!! I think it may have even made the wine taste a tiny bit better, if that's even possible. My husband and I both drink a lot of wine and we really enjoyed the Tapeña wines.