We’ve organized this guide by suggesting wines for different types of occasions. Here are some parties that you might be invited to and the wines you need to bring.

For each occasion, we'll suggest four wines (both red and white). A single $ connotes prices from $0 - $20 and a double $$ covers prices $20 and above.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

How to Bring the Wine to the Party and Present It

Okay, so now you have your bottle in tow. You’re ready to bask in the glow of gratitude and awe from your hosts. But you need to give the wine deference as well and carry it with its due respect. Treat the bottle of wine like it was your baby. Would you carry your baby around by its neck? No, you would cradle your baby gently in your arm. So don’t grab and hold your wine bottles by the neck either. Show those child rearing skills and cradle that bottle of wine!

When you present the wine, do it with a flourish so the host knows that you made a serious decision in choosing this particular bottle of wine for them and this occasion. Indeed, this was not a flippant choice, so carry yourself and the wine accordingly.

Also, understand that wine is volatile. Try not to jostle it too much. Repeated and long-term jarring can affect the wine significantly. Sounds sissy but it’s true. So be gentle with the wine.

Know something about the wine that you’re buying. Basically, read the back of the label. You can get a lot of information from there to impress your friends. (And seriously, who reads the back of a wine bottle anyways?)

Things you can learn from the back of the wine bottle:

The different grapes in the wine
“Did you know that this blend is unique because it has 80% Caberet Sauvignon and 20% Syrah?”

The climate of that given year
“It was particularly cool in Napa in ’05 so they had to harvest earlier that year.”

Characteristics of the wine
“You should be able to immediately smell the strawberries and stewed plums on the nose.”

The winemaker’s history and style
“The winemaker studied in Burgundy for a few years and that affected how he makes his wines.”

You are starting to sound like you know something!

(On a side note, hold wine glasses properly. This is a pet peeve of mine, and hopefully it will anger you too when you see people hold wine glasses incorrectly. All you need to know now is that you hold the wine glass by the stem. That’s why it’s there. Don’t hold the bowl of the glass – that warms the wine. So please, if I haven’t taught you anything else here, in the very least, hold the wine glass correctly. Please.)

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