Whenever you have guests in your home it's always a good idea to have some snacks available for your guests, but what you have on offer really depends on what the event is.
The one thing that might be a little different is a wine tasting evening in the home, as all that is really required are some palate cleansers to keep the taste buds neutral between each taste.
Snacks may not necessarily be required, but it's still a nice hosting touch to add little finger foods and snacks that your guests will enjoy, and which complement the wine tasting.
It's generally recommended that if you do decide to serve snacks, that you do so before and after the tasting, and just making sure that there are plenty of palate cleansers on hand when the tasting is in progress.
That means providing water for all your guests, as well as such items as a plain, non-grainy baguette and crackers, although nothing overly salty.
The idea with these items is not to feed your guests, but simply to keep the taste buds neutralized between each serving of wine, which will give them a clean tasting palate each and every time.
There are some great snacks that you can serve before the tasting begins, all of which will not overload the tasters, or have any sort of negative effect on the palate.
Yogurt has the double bonus of being good for you, and also being able to coat the stomach if you haven't had a chance to eat a full meal before the tasting begins.
Hummus is another great option, and adding some veggies for dipping can help fill an empty stomach.
Nuts are very popular among the wine tasting crowd, but like the crackers, try to go with nuts that are not overly salty.
Many people associate cheese with wine, but while it can make for a good mix, you should be sure to avoid the stronger cheeses, as their taste can overpower everything that comes after.
The same can be said for chocolate, which usually ends up being a bad choice to go with when tasting wine.
Having said that, you could definitely look at serving some chocolate desserts after the wine tasting is finished.
Vanilla ice cream with a fruit sauce of some sort is also a nice dessert touch, as is a nice flan.
The snacks for a wine tasting event can actually be matched with the types of wine that you are planning on tasting.
That can create a themed evening, with the snacks actually complementing the wines, rather than being used as filler or simple hors d'oeuvres.
When shopping for the wines that you will taste, try to buy from a specialty wine shop, as there is sure to be someone on staff who can recommend a variety of different snack that will work perfectly with your chosen wines.