Washington Wine Academy has been hosting fun events for individuals like yourself since our first days of operation in 1999. Our event staff has hosted a wide variety of events ranging from wine tastings in homes, wedding and bridal showers (even a rehearsal dinner wine tasting for over 150 attendees), bus trips, dozens of alumni groups, social clubs and pretty much anything in-between (anniversaries/birthday parties). At Washington Wine Academy, we do not have minimums and have even done private wine consulting/tastings for groups as small as four attendees. Our flexibility has earned us the reputation as the premier organization providing educational wine events in the Washington, DC Metro area. Here's your chance to organize a private wine tasting of your very own in the Washington area or anywhere in the country.

Whether in your home, your office or any one of great venues available in the DC area - we can create it for you. We will assist you in finding a location for your event, food options, wine speakers and themes. We will also obtain the necessary licenses from local and state governments.

The Washington Wine Academy has extensive experience creating custom private events to meet any need. Our events are fun, educational and we always go that extra step to ensure our events have a touch of class. Please feel free to e-mail (Mendy@WashingtonWineAcademy.org) or call us for options. We are available to create the perfect wine tasting experience just for you! See our Client List for a sample of events we have hosted in the past.

Here are some items to consider to get you started while formulating your event:

1) What jurisdiction will the event take place?

Such as Virginia, Maryland, Washington DC or other. There are very strict licensing guidelines if you plan on holding your event in Virginia, DC or Maryland. The Washington Wine Academy will acquire all of the necessary permits to ensure compliance with local jurisdictions in which you are holding your event. The fees for the acquisition of necessary permits vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

2) How many people are going to attend?

Our accounting department would say...the more people the better! But, in reality, we can help you create an event for groups of 10...to thousands, all within your budget. We pride ourselves on our event flexibility and options available.

3) What is your budget?

Special Economic Note... Due to the current economic situation, we are aware that budgets are being cut and everyone needs to do more with less. We will do our best to work with you on an event to meet your needs.

The cost of hosting a wine tasting can vary quite a bit. The Washington Wine Academy has successfully hosted 1,000's of events in our nine plus years in business. We have learned clients can have varying expectations, needs and most importantly - budgets. We have found the number of attendees and per person costs will vary greatly depending on a wide-range of elements.

Typically, our event costs can be anywhere from $30-$100 (per-person), largely driven by a number of factors.

It has always been our policy to facilitate the needs and requests of our clients. With this being said, we are a small business and are especially vulnerable to unexepected changes to the agreed upon budget. Once we establish a price and service to be delivered we must adhere to the number of attendees listed on the contract. We feel these policies are fair to all parties and appreciate your undstanding in this matter.

4) Do you have an exact date in mind?

The Washington Wine Academy is ready to assist with your event on any day of the week. Please allow us adequate time to make all the necessary arrangements and we will certainly do our best to accommodate your schedule.

5) What about venue options?

We can turn your home or office into the perfect tasting room! Or, if you have a specific location in mind - such as club rooms, private restaurant space, private clubs or even art galleries or other public spaces such as wineries, Universities and more. Many times a person or group has relationships with fun, eclectic spaces that we may not know about. Let your creativity run free and let us know your thoughts (ask your friends and colleagues or even use Craigslist for ideas). Sometimes your personal relationship with these venues can allow you free or reduced costs for use of them.

6) What about food - We gotta have food!

Now you are being difficult! Ok, we can help you here! The Washington Wine Academy can provide food for events as needed. From simple palette cleansers like cheese displays, bread, grapes and crackers to more elaborate additions of our shrimp platter (yippee), dips, dessert items and more. For your serving selection we ask the question? Glass or Silver? Either or both can be utilized for serving dishes to achieve the ambiance you desire. Though, we have been known to break out the plastic at our DC United Tailgate parties!

7) Searching for unique ideas or themes?

We have recently added themes relative to the season of the year for your consideration. We are quite flexible and creative in working with you to formulate the exact event you are looking for.

Description of event: Our most popular offering is the wine tasting reception. This event works well for most groups and is well received as a networking event for your attendees. Our typical reception event starts with a sparkling wine, followed by a fun and educational presentation by one of our wine speakers for 15 - 20 minutes, and then we open up a table of 4-6 various wines. Attendees will learn the basics of wine tasting, wine storage and will be able exercise their skills while tasting and examining the featured wines. We typically provide cheese trays, grapes, raspberries, strawberries, shrimp platter, dips, bread/crackers, dessert items. Food will be attractively displayed on silver platters or glass to achieve the ambiance you desire.

We also specialize in creating receptions which focus on a particular region, grape variety (Rieslings and Pinot Noirs for example) or even a comparison of value wines and high end wines of the same variety. While this event is still considered reception-style, it allows the event to focus on the wine, or other item as an added element. Another very fun idea is to explore food and wine pairing. This sit-down, interactive and educational presentation typically utilizes simple meat preparations for use throughout the guided program to demonstrate which food goes well with which wine.

Description of event: In recognition of the fact that according to the 2005 Gallup Poll women make up 57% of the U.S. adult population and purchase 55% of the wine consumed in the household, Washington Wine Academy offers women only wine tasting events.  We utilize female wine educators in order to create an atmosphere where women can come together in a social setting that encourages participants to ask questions, share their knowledge and obtain “wine savvy” building blocks to make more educated wine choices in their daily lives.  This event provides great networking opportunities and a venue to connect with other women.

Description of event: Enjoy the splendor of the Virginia Countryside and refreshing mountain air combined with some of Virginia's most acclaimed wines. Your luxury transportation provided by Reston Limousine will pick you up in style and sweep you off to wine country making this an unforgettable escape from the hectic DC lifestyle! You may also wish to include a formal gourmet wine luncheon or a deluxe catered box lunch to enjoy at your leisure as you take in the sights and sounds of the fall wine harvest. We will work with you to create a spectacular weekend or weekday escape!

Options also include guided behind-the-scene tour of the winery, an opportunity to speak directly with winemaker and a seated private wine seminar.

Description of event: We can coordinate a wine tasting dinner with the restaurant of your choice and arrange for your guests to sit down to a meal consisting of several courses, each paired with a different wine.  Our wine expert will review the characteristics of each wine and discuss why it was paired with the particular food.

Description of event: A more formal wine lecture that could cover the ABC's of Wine (as an example) that will be done classroom (lecture) style, educating the participants on the basics of wine serving, buying, storage, food matching...etc. This event (though more formal than a reception) is still a fun and informative event.

If you're interested in creating a wine tasting of your very own, the Washington Wine Academy is willing and able to meet your needs. Contact Mendy Figueroa to customize your event.

The Washington Wine Academy prides itself on our flexibility in event planning for your friends or family and we look forward to working with you.

Important note about e-mail to the Washington Wine Academy: Due to increased (and a bit out of control) amount of SPAM e-mail the Academy has been receiving. Please START all email subject lines with:

WWA – [Insert your subject here].

If you do not hear back from us within a reasonable amount of time, please re-send your e-mail and follow-up with a phone call or voicemail to us. Thank you for you assistance with this as we value your correspondence and want to strive to work with you in a timely manner.