Summer Sauvignon Blanc White Wine Party

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am fortunate to have a small, tight-knit circle of girlfriends. Our friendship has grown over the past 15 years, starting as co-workers and continuing even after everyone has gone their separate ways to new jobs. They're the kind of friends that get your inside jokes, but we can also go a few weeks without talking and pick up just where we left off.

Good, good friends.

We try to organize "girls nights" a few times a year, and because we are all so busy with kids, work and life - we have to plan ahead and get the evening on the calendar far in advance. In fact, I'm already planning our get together for later in the summer. I am putting together a wine tasting party specifically for 2014 Sonoma-Cutrer Sauvignon Blanc. Now, we love our wine - wine is usually the centerpiece of our evenings - we typically bring a bottle of wine and an appetizer, and we always have a great time.

This time around, I'll be hosting by providing a menu of appetizers to complement our wine, and we'll all taste and enjoy this crisp summer beverage. I am a big fan of Sonoma Cutrer Chardonnay, but this is my first go-round with the Sauvignon Blanc.

My first impression of the wine was that it was very light, crisp with just a hint of tropical fruit and with a hint of grapefruit and lime. It was soft, not bitter or acidic, and very smooth. Immediately a menu came to mind - and my party planning was in full swing.

If you're planning a wine tasting, make sure you taste the wine first! Your palate will tell you what to serve with your wine - and it doesn't matter what you find on the internet. Serve what you like, and you really can't go wrong.

I'm starting with a chicken shashlik. These skewers of char-grilled chicken are marinated in tomato, garlic and cilantro, and are a perfect contrast to the clean, crisp wine. Plus, they're served on skewers and are the perfect appetizer and finger food.

And, because my tomatoes will be lovely when the party finally gets here, I'm also planning on a garden tomato tart. The acidity of the tomatoes and creamy, saltiness of the mozzarella cheese will pair perfectly with the citrus undertones of the sauvignon blanc.

Finally, we'll round out the appetizers with a spinach and Gruyere quiche. Quiche is a perfect party appetizer, because it can be served warm or at room temperature. The Gruyere cheese is just rich enough to marry the flavors in the wine - and bring out the mandarin and passion fruit undertones.

We'll round out the table with a nice bread, some cheese and olives, and an assortment of crackers. Wine tastings are a great way to introduce your guests to your favorite wines, try something new, and have some fun doing it!

I'm excited to introduce Sonoma-Cutrer wines to my friends, and upon reading about all of the different types of wine they offer on their website, I discovered that they offer a really enticing membership opportunity at Club Cutrer. Between the exclusive wine shipments, membership pricing, access to limited editions and member events, I'm ready to sign up!

If you'd like to learn more about Sonoma-Cutrer, you can follow them at @sonomacutrer on Instragam and @SonomaCutrer on Twitter - use #SonomaCutrer. They also offer tours and tastings at their winery in Windsor, CA - and I'm about ready to hop on a plane. It's a really beautiful place!

Make sure you check back in for my follow up post - I'll have some fun pictures of the food, the wine and our evening. Can't wait to share it with you all! In the meantime, check out the recipes I'm planning below. Enjoy!