Mingling and chatting with friends while enjoying a good glass of wine at a party is one of the most pleasant of life's simple joys. Yet, the irony is that whether it's for holiday festivities, a wedding reception, or any number of other special occasions, trying to pick the wines for a party can be one of the most stressful parts of planning such an event.
The good news is that there are some tried and true guidelines that will let party planners rest assured that their guests are actually enjoying the selected wines, as opposed to just enduring them.
The Essential Basics
The first thing to keep in mind when picking wine for a party is that there will be some people there who pretty much like only whites, others who prefer red, and many who like both. Start by ensuring you have a nice array of red and white wine.
As you begin the actual selection process, it's important to keep to that general rule of thumb of appealing to the widest audience. While a Gewurztraminer is a very good white wine, its sweetness and heady aroma is not something you can count on everyone liking. With this in mind, look for wines that don't require a heightened appreciation, but just taste good. Educating guests on why they should like a particular wine is definitely what party-planners should avoid. Pick wines that speak for themselves, and do so simply.
If you follow these general principles, some of the wines that seem to always fill the bill include:
Making the Party Special
The other part of achieving wine party success rests on all of the little things. Making sure that there is enough bread—and that it too is good—is an often-overlooked essential. When sampling the wines being considered for a party, pay attention to which cheeses and snacks will pair best with the selected varietals.
Another nice touch is to bring some customization and extra specialness to a wine party with such items as:
The bottom line is that appealing to a wide range of tastes with proven quality and a few fun extras is a surefire route to success and fun for any type of wine party. Most importantly, don't forget to relax and have fun!