Learn how to blend Duplin Cotton Candy wines at home

If there is one thing we've learned during the pandemic, it's that entertaining at home can be a lot of fun. The best parties are full of surprises and give guests a chance to really connect over something different to do, like crazy game nights, cocktail-making classes or learning how to blend wines.

A wine-blending party lets everyone get creative and end up with something personal. When we did this with our Duplin Cotton Candy wines, guests had a blast. We made sure to have plenty of small canning jars availble so that anyone who wanted to could take their blends home. Mostly, guests drank their blends at the party. Everyone wanted everyone else to taste what they had mixed. It was a wine-tasting party as much as a wine-blending party. Frank, host of our web series "Duplin Dine & Wine," led the blending. Watch his video above for tips. Better yet, stream it on your television during the party.

We put out all the Cotton Candy flavors: lime, blueberry, peach and our original true cotton candy blend. We also whipped up batches to different wine slushies using our Sweetzer mixes so that guests could layer the frozen drinks. Peach Bellini Sweetzer made with Cotton Candy Peach was especially popular layered over Blueberry Freeze Sweetzer made with Cotton Candy Blueberry. We had lots of wines glasses on hand and passed out fancy little notebooks and pens so that blenders could take notes on their recipes. It's also a good idea to put bottle pourers on the wines to help guests control how much they pour. Little condiment cups, measuring cups and spoons and shot glasses also help guests portion wines. 

All the fruity wines and slushie flavors meant we could serve colorful, bold-flavored food. Our menu included Pineapple Guacamole with chips, Pepper Jelly Pimento Cheese and Cotton Candy Cheesecake Shots.