Just because you don’t have a significant other doesn’t mean you need to stay at home alone. Plan a wine tasting party for yourself and your single friends. It’s really quite simple to pull together.

You don’t have to be a wine connoisseur — after all, you’ll learn more about wine as you host your tasting. SheKnows shares some key tips to make it a successful evening for you and your friends.

Focus on a region or a type of wine

When you go to the liquor store, you can easily become overwhelmed with all the choices, so a simple way to choose wines for your wine tasting is to focus on a particular type of wine or a particular region. If the friends you’re having over all know one another and you’ve travelled together, it might be fun to select a region you backpacked through together.

Serve the appropriate food

With everyone consuming wine, you’ll need to serve food at your party. Ask guests to bring an appetizer to share, or offer a simple menu of cheese and charcuterie boards. If you’ve chosen wines from a particular region, serving cheeses or appetizers that centre on that same region is a classy touch.

Decide the party’s format

Do you want your wine tasting party to be a sit-down affair or one at which your guests get to mingle? If your guest list has grown a fair bit, the standing-and-mingling format might give your party a better flow, as everyone will be able to get to know one another.

Plan for your guests to get home safely

Finally, make sure ahead of time that people have made the proper arrangements to get home safe and sound. Have local taxi company phone numbers handy, and invite friends who have a farther trek home to spend the night in your guest room or on your couch if they want to.

Visit SheKnows for some more useful tips.