With friends · hen party, stag do
A blind-tasting hen or stag party: six bottles, six numbered socks
Ten friends, six bottles hidden in socks or numbered bags, and the bride- or groom-to-be has to guess. It is a game, not a lesson. And it is not a job for a wine merchant: six bottles, plus the dinner wine, stay below the point where ordering from us makes sense. This page explains how to set up the game, and the calculator will say so itself.
The numbers, for the dinner that follows
Set for ten guests who all drink, a seated dinner and two hours of evening on champagne. The tasting kit isn't counted: add its six bottles to the result. That comes to about fifteen, and the calculator sends you to your local wine shop.
Three kits that work
The kit is six bottles, a theme and a question the guest of honour has to answer. Without a question, it's an aperitif; with one, it's a game.
The price game
Two bottles at €8, two at €15, two at €30, all of the same type. Question: which is the most expensive? The cheapest often comes first, and that's the best story of the evening.
Six colours, six glasses
A champagne, a dry white, a rosé, a light red, a red for laying down, a sweet wine. Question: what's in the glass? Easier than it looks, and nobody goes home without getting at least one wine right.
Champagne versus crémant
Three champagnes, three crémants, served in random order. Question: which are the champagnes? The theme that gets people talking most, and the one that best prepares for the wedding toast.
How much to buy, and at what price
Six bottles for ten people is 7.5 cl per wine per person, 45 cl each over the game: enough to taste, vote and still enjoy dinner. A seventh bottle is pointless; if the game goes down well, pour the winner again.
The kit is split ten ways. The price game comes to €106, a little under €11 a head; the other two between €60 and €210 depending on the level. None of them justifies an order from a wine merchant.
| Kit | Bottles | Unit price | Total | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The price game | 6 | €8, €15 and €30 | €106 | €11 |
| Six colours, six glasses | 6 | €10–25 | €60–150 | €6–15 |
| Champagne versus crémant | 6 | €12–35 | €72–210 | €7–21 |
A running order that works
- One best man or bridesmaid buys and hides. Each bottle in a sock or a paper bag numbered 1 to 6. Remove the capsule too: it often carries the estate's name. Whoever bought doesn't play.
- One glass per person, rinsed between wines. Ten glasses, a jug of water, bread. The cheese can wait for dinner.
- Six rounds of ten minutes. Pour, taste, the guest of honour answers first, the others bet against them. An hour in all, before sitting down to eat.
- The forfeits. A wrong answer, a forfeit chosen by the group; a right one, a forfeit for whoever bet against. Write them down beforehand, not after the fourth wine.
- The reveal. Take the socks off in the order of the votes. A photo of the six bottles lined up: often the one that ends up at the wedding.
How many bottles for a hen or stag party of ten?
Six for the game, then dinner: the calculator, set for ten guests, a dinner and two hours of evening, comes to 9 bottles (4 red, 2 white, 3 champagne). With the kit, 15 bottles. At the “good” level, allow €188 for dinner and the evening, €19 per person, plus the kit.
Do you need a wine merchant for a hen party?
No. Fifteen bottles can be bought at a local wine shop, which will help you put the kit together. A wine merchant becomes useful from about twenty bottles. For a more serious tasting, on a theme such as Left Bank versus Right Bank, the tasting evening with friends page gives the full running order.
And if the hen party lasts all weekend?
Tick a second meal and the brunch: the calculator goes up to 19 bottles, 25 with the kit. That is the point where a quote starts to be worth discussing, especially if the weekend is in a rented house; the wine for a rental with friends page does the count over several days.
And getting home?
Choose the drivers before the first wine and take them out of the count; a tasting stag do ends better on foot or by taxi. The wine and drivers page gives the soft drinks and quantities to plan for those not drinking.
The wedding itself is counted in cases: the wedding calculator does the count, and the quote request gets a selection within 48 working hours.