Who doesn’t like Spanish tapas? Munching on a little bit of this and a little bit of that while sipping on Spanish wines and socializing can be so much more fun than a traditional sit-down dinner.

As the host, you can prepare the platters of small bites ahead of time and, right before the party, set out a buffet for your guests to nibble on all evening long. With most of the preparation done ahead of time, you too can relax and enjoy the vibrant flavors of the Iberian Peninsula.

Get The Party Started

Greet your guests with a glass of Cava, Spain’s best-known sparkling wine. Most Cava comes from the Penedès area in Catalonia, Spain, although it can be made is other villages too. Cava is made in the same way as Champagne, the traditional method, with a second fermentation inside the bottle. This process leaves a temporary sediment of dead yeast cells in the wine and helps develop complex flavors like brioche, citrus, apple, and pear that are typically found in Champagne, but evident in a good Cava as well. One of my favorite Cavas is made by biodynamic producer Parés Baltà. Other Cavas to look for: Juvé y Camps, Segura Viudas, and Cellar de Les Aus ‘Bruant’.

In addition to tapas, you can easily put together a meat and cheese platter. Spanish jamóns (hams) like Ibérico and Serrano paired with cheeses like Manchego, Cabrales, and Tetilla are great options.

And while you’re at it, consider making a paella which can be served right off the stove. The wide, shallow shape of a paella pan proudly boasts its enticing ingredients and makes a gorgeous presentation. Check out Paella Your Way, an easy-to-make recipe that uses your favorite ingredients.

Here are six tapas recipes, along with an assortment of Spanish wines, for the best tapas party ever. If you can’t find a recommended wine, ask your neighborhood wine retailer to suggest another one. With over 60 different regional wine denominations in Spain, you are sure to find just the right ones to keep the party going.

Citrus Marinated Olives with Tio Pepe En Rama Sherry

Tio Pepe Fino en Rama is an unfiltered dry sherry that is bottled during the spring when the flor (a naturally-occurring film of yeast on the surface of the wine in the barrel) is at its thickest. “En Rama” is the term used for sherry in its raw, most delicate state, as if drinking directly from the cask itself. Serve this incredibly fresh and delicious wine chilled.

Recipe adapted from The Food Network

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced

1 strip lemon zest, removed with a vegetable peeler plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 strip orange zest, removed with a vegetable peeler plus 1 tablespoon orange juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup Castelvetrano olives

Instructions

1) Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the red pepper flakes thyme, garlic, lemon zest, orange zest, salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is pale golden, about 2 minutes.

2) Stir in the olives until just warm, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat. Stir in the lemon and orange juices and transfer to a decorative jar or serving bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Blistered Peppers with Mil Historias de Altolandon Garnacha

This lively Garnacha (Grenache) is made by Rosalia Molina in the hills near the seaside town of Valencia. The Mil Historias de Altolandon vines are managed by organic methods and the grapes are vinified with native yeasts. This delicious wine can be paired with everything, including shisito peppers.

Adapted from a recipe in Wine Food — New Adventures in Drinking and Cooking.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 pound shisito peppers

Fine sea salt

Instructions

1) Warm 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When it just begins to smoke, add half of the peppers and a big pinch of salt. Cook until the peppers collapse and blacken in spots, about 5 to 10 minutes.

2)Transfer the peppers to a serving plate. Drizzle the blistered peppers with more oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve hot. Repeat to cook the remaining peppers in the rest of the oil, garnish and serve warm or at room temperature.

Pintxos Gilda with Adega Pedralongo Albariño

This is THE classic Spanish tapas, found in every bar in San Sebastian. The dish’s strong, saline flavors pair perfectly with this organic and biodynamic Galician white wine. The Pedralongo vines grow on pure granitic hills just ten miles from the Atlantic Ocean and I chose this Albariño for its complex, textured style that is balanced by bracing acidity and salinity. Perfect with this pungent, briny dish.

Ingredients

20 boquerones (pickled white anchovies)

20 whole pitted green Spanish olives

20 pickled guindilla peppers (from one 4.5-ounce jar; also called piparras)

Instructions

1) To assemble each gilda, thread one olive onto the pick. Wrap two or three peppers with one anchovy and thread onto pick (see photo). Add second olive to the end of the pick.

2) Arrange them on a serving plate and serve, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Bring the skewers back to room temperature before serving.

Garlic Shrimp (Gambas al Ajillo) with El Coto Blanco Rioja

This delicious white wine is made from estate-grown Viura grapes at the El Coto Winery in Rioja. Fresh and crisp with citrus flavors, the El Coto Blanco is perfect for seafood and salads.

Adapted from a recipe on foxandbriar.com

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup olive oil

4-6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or to taste

1 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 pound large raw shrimp

salt

pepper

chopped parsley for garnish, optional

Instructions

1) Add butter, olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes to a sauté pan and heat over medium heat. Sauté for about one minute or until garlic becomes fragrant, being careful not to burn it.

2) Add the paprika, lemon juice and shrimp and sauté for two to three minutes, until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper, and pour shrimp and oil into serving dish. Top with parsley if desired and serve with crusty bread for dipping.

Gazpacho — Flor de Muga Rosé 2018

This 100% Garnacha wine comes from one of my favorite producers in Rioja. The Muga winery is located in the historical Barrio de La Estación (railway station district) in Haro. Known for their traditionally styled red wines, they also make beautiful whites and rosés. The Flor de Muga is crafted from very old Garnacha vines that give the wine a richness belied by its pale pink color. The wine is delicate, yet complex with hints of peach, strawberry and white flowers, and a perfect accompaniment to the flavorful Gazpacho.

INGREDIENTS

6 ripe tomatoes (about 3 lbs), peeled and chopped (yielding about 6 cups)

1 red onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 sweet red bell pepper (or green) seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)

2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, optional

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)

1/4 cup red wine or sherry vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

2 teaspoons sugar (more may be needed to balance out the acidity of the tomatoes, add to taste)

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

6 or more drops of Tabasco sauce to taste

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

3 cups tomato juice (or 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes if you don't have tomato juice)

2 avocados, pitted and chopped

Instructions

1) Place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a few times or more until at desired consistency, either chunky or smooth (a blender can be used as well).

2) Remove to a large non-metal, non-reactive storage container, cover tightly and refrigerate at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, to allow the flavors to blend. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish with avocado.

Patatas Bravas with Rioja Crianza

No tapas party would be complete without a few Tempranillo-based red wines from Rioja. I chose younger Crianza wines for this pairing since they spend less time in oak barrels than their siblings, the Reservas and Gran Reservas. Crianzas tend to be lighter, more fruit-forward and are a great match to the many flavors of tapas. Look for crianzas from the following producers: Baigorri, Beronia, CVNE, El Coto, El Ternero, LAN, Marques de Caceres, R. Lopez de Heredia ‘Viña Cubillo,’ Viña Pomal, Viña Real, Vivanco.

The aioli can be prepared ahead and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving. The potatoes should be prepared right before the guests arrive.

Aioli Ingredients

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon smoked paprika

1 pinch salt

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar or more to taste

1 teaspoon tomato paste

¼ teaspoon ground chipotle peppers

1 pinch cayenne pepper

Patatas Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil

Sea salt and pepper

Spanish paprika

1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

Make the Garlic Aioli

1) Combine garlic, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, and a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle or food processor; process until smooth.

2) Mix in mayonnaise, sherry vinegar, tomato paste, 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder, and cayenne pepper until combined.

Make the Patatas Bravas

1) Boil the fingerling potatoes in salted water until they are just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let dry.

2) Carefully slice the potatoes in half lengthwise once they are cooled. Heat a cast iron pan to very hot with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Work in batches (don’t overcrowd the pan) and fry up the potatoes until each side is crispy and evenly browned, about 2 minutes per side.

3) Using tongs, transfer the potatoes to drain on paper towels, and while they are still very hot, sprinkle with sea salt, pepper, paprika, and parsley. Serve with the aioli drizzled on top of the potatoes or on the side in a ramekin.

Crema Catalana with Lustau East India Solera Sherry

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We head back to southern Spain’s Sherry region for Lustau’s East India Solera Sherry, a deliciously sweet, yet not syrupy, mix of Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez. With notes of brown sugar and caramel and hints of baking spices and coffee, this wine pairs perfectly with a Catalan cream dessert.

Recipe adapted from Claudia Roden’s “The Food of Spain.”

Ingredients

2½ cups of whole milk

A big slice of peel from a lemon and an orange (note: not the zest, but rather big slices of the peel)

1 cinnamon stick

2 tablespoons cornstarch

5 large egg yolks

½ cup superfine sugar (if you can't find superfine, don't worry, it'll just be a bit more grainy)

Additional sugar to caramelize on top

Fresh fruit (like figs, raspberries or strawberries) to top

Instructions

1) Put the milk on the stove in a small saucepan, along with the citrus peels and the cinnamon stick. Slowly bring to a boil. Dissolve the cornstarch in a splash of water and set aside. While the milk is slowly heating, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, until the mixture turns pale yellow. Beat dissolved cornstarch and 1/2 cup of hot (not boiling) milk into the sugar egg mixture.

2) Remove citrus peels and cinnamon stick from milk. Reduce heat to lowest setting. Slowly add egg yolk mixture to milk, making sure to keep stirring so that the eggs don't scramble. Stir constantly over low heat, until the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and pour mixture through fine mesh sieve into traditional clay dishes or ramekins.

3) Allow custards to cool. Cover in plastic wrap and chill for about four hours (preferably overnight). Before serving, let custards come to room temperature. Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar on top of each ramekin. Spread the sugar out by tilting the ramekins in all directions. Caramelize with a small kitchen blowtorch (you can use the broiler but the results are better with a blowtorch). Top with fresh fruit (optional) and enjoy! Salud!

What are your favorite tapas recipes? Please share in the comments below.