Not this squad! If you are a wine lover like myself, you probably appreciate the idea of sitting back, relaxing and savoring sips of a wide variety of wines. Unfortunately the hours of driving and costs involved in participating in a fancy shmancy tasting in wine country are less than appealing. Well, the solution is upon us right here at Lost in Lala just in time for the holiday season. A fun way to entertain fellow wine-loving friends this season is with this DIY wine tasting tutorial in the comfort of your humble abode! With the help of the Coravin Model One Wine System and a few tips and tricks from yours truly, there is no need to venture far and wide for an evening of fun and full-bodied flavor with friends!

If you already know your poison and a wine tasting shindig isn’t up your alley, please keep reading because this unique, patented system is still definitely for you! While it is a beautiful thing to enjoy a glass of wine at home after a long day, it’s a shame to see the rest of the bottle go to waste if not finished within the week! No need to watch wine go to waste or pull a sourpuss face when resuming that bottle of oxidized, altered flavored wine with the Coravin Model One Wine System on hand! Say what?! Yup. It’s basically a magic trick for grown-ups that isn’t a trick at all. Coravin‘s proven technology keeps wine fresher for significantly longer… like years longer… though, let’s be real, who takes years to finish a good bottle?! Not me! I can definitely take a few weeks or months though so my mind has been totally blown and every wine-lover I love is getting one of these for Christmas!
The Basics:
How the heck?! The Coravin Model One Wine System lets you pour wine effortlessly without removing the cork. Natural cork is very flexible so once the system is removed from the bottle, the cork reseals itself and remains good as new until the next usage!
So wait… what?! Simply place the Coravin Model One Wine System on top of your wine bottle and press the gentle needle through the cork with ease. The soft touch grips clamp around the bottleneck to hold it securely in place and make pouring effortless for ya! Turn the bottle on a 45° angle, press trigger to pressurize and release trigger to pour. Just tilt the bottle back up when you’re done!

O.M.G. Where?! The Coravin Model One System is available at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Bloomingdale’s, Sur La Table, Neiman Marcus, Amazon and more for $199.95! For more info head to Coravin.com!

The Shindig:
This tasting is more of a potluck because ’tis the season of sharing and caring! All you need to worry about as the host is a holiday tablescape to set your wine-tasting station up on, disposable wine glasses for ease, chalkboard tape and chalk for organization and a bottle of wine and cheese and olive platter to kick things off! Assign a different type of wine to each guest attending to craft an eclectic selection for the party and send along wine assignments with a cute e-mail invite… feel free to use my invite example or get creative with your own! Click the ‘Wine Tasting Invite’ image below to redirect to a downloadable PDF file and fill in the blanks as needed!!!
For an easy breezy hand-crafted holiday table decor, follow these simple steps for a DIY no-sew burlap runner:
Supplies:
Burlap Fabric that measures 1/3 of the width of your table and 2 feet longer than the length of your table.
Decorative trim in festive color/design that measures approximately Length of Burlap x 2 + 2 feet
Fabric Glue
Chalk or Pencil
Ruler
Measuring Tape
Scissors
(Optional) Festive tablecloth for underneath runner!

How-To DIY:
Measure table width and length using the formula above, measure and cut burlap fabric to appropriate sized rectangle.
Fold burlap in half and measure 6″ down lengthwise from outer edge corner and mark with chalk or pencil. Draw a line from center fold edge corner to chalk or pencil mark. Cut along line and repeat on opposite end of burlap to create triangular points at both ends of runner.
Begin attaching trim to burlap with fabric glue on longest edges first and cut at corners to ensure symmetry in trim placement. Continue to glue and cut trim along edges of triangular ends symmetrically. Allow to completely dry per the fabric glue’s instruction before placing your runner on your table!
Wine-Tasting Station Setup:
Cut and stick pieces of chalkboard tape or electrical tape onto your disposable wine glasses and leave them in one corner of your wine-tasting station with chalk or metallic markers for people to write their names on them. Place a cheese and olive platter on the other corner of your table. Create a little ambience by lighting a couple of holiday candles along the back side of your table and let the collection of wine bottles and the handy dandy Coravin Model One Wine System take center stage of your station! I don’t know about you but I’d say they make a beautiful festive centerpiece all on their own!

#StopScrewingAround and get your holiday wine-tasting party underway! With a 30 day risk free trial and one year limited warranty with your Coravin purchase, what’s not to love fellow wine-lover? Tag me and Coravin and hashtag #StopScrewingAround on social media pics of your own shindigs featuring the above tips and tricks! 😉

Shenae Grimes-Beech is an actor and YouTuber with a highly engaged community of like-minded women who are here to stand up for what they believe in and lean into discomfort, especially when it means doing the right thing.
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