For the last seven years my husband and I have hosted a fall wine party.  Each couple is asked to bring a bottle from a certain region. This year we chose California.

I love  having parties not only for the social aspect but for the sheer fun of decorating the house with wine embellishments. Each year I find more and more wine themed props to deck the house out with. Last year I even went as far as searching for a wine barrel. Let me tell you it isn’t an easy task finding one in New England. I think I called every winery in Massachusetts, only to find one in our neighboring state of Rhode Island.  It turns out that most of the barrels are from France and are of course made out of French oak. Usually vineyards aren’t willing to part with them due to the fact that they continually recycle them to make more great wine with. If you were to buy a new barrel it  would cost you at least a thousand dollars. We stole this one for about $100.

To add to the  ambiance I found some wooden wine crates and wooden cheese boxes and created this assemblage of wine bottles strung with faux grapes and white lights. The thing that I enjoy most is putting the flower arrangements together. I try to match each arrangement with the different colors I have throughout my home, as well as placing them in the numerous planters that I picked up at local garage sales for pennies. This year we had about 30 people attend the party. I think everyone had a great time between the great wine, food and friends. I know I sure did!!  Here are a few pictures to show you all of the decorations!! Enjoy!! and happy fall!!