Help!…I Need To Select Wine For a Social Gathering

You are planning a wedding, a fortieth birthday celebration for your sister or a dinner party with friends.  Of course, you will serve wine.  But what wine will you serve, and how will you select it?  You want your guests to like the wine.  You want the wine to pair well with the food you are serving.  You only have so much money to spend.

How do you select wine?

Consider these rules of thumb…

• Choose both white and red wines.
• Choose wines with body appropriate to the food you are serving.
• Select wines with body appropriate to the ambient temperature.
• Select wines lower in alcohol.
• Choose wines with broad palette appeal.

Offer both white and red wines

Most people have a preference for either white wine or red wine.  Yes, those with a preference for red wine usually still prefer a red wine over a white wine with dishes traditionally considered to be white wine food pairings (e.g., fish).  Those with a preference for red wine also typically prefer red wine even on a hot summer day.  Unless you know your guests only prefer white wines or red wines, you should serve both types.

Select "body appropriate" wines

Pair lighter-bodied wines with lighter foods and heavier-bodied wines with heavier foods.  For instance, pair mild fish, shellfish, lightly seasoned, white meat fowl dishes and spring vegetable entrées with light-bodied wines (wines from Calldera wine categories a, b, c and d).  Pair flavorful fish, dark meat fowl, pork dishes and winter vegetables with medium-bodied wines.  Pair full-bodied wines with red meat and entrées with heavy sauces, herbs and/or spices.

Consider ambient temperature

Take into consideration the expected ambient temperature at your planned gathering when selecting wine.  Are you hosting an outdoors event?  Will it be a hot summer day or a mild spring afternoon?  Is your event indoors and completely temperature controlled?  The warmer the expected ambient temperature, the lighter-bodied wine you should choose.  A heavy wine on a hot day is unappealing.

Lower alcohol is better

Few people are offended by wine of average alcohol strength (~13%) or less.  However, high-alcohol wines (14.5% or higher) can be too much for some people.  For this reason and the practical desire to curb unintentional overindulgence at what may be a lengthy social gathering, prefer wines lower in alcohol when possible.

Choose wines with broad palette appeal

Although you may prefer certain wines with pronounced flavor characteristics that, in your opinion, pair best with the food you are serving, your guests may have different preferences.  This particularly is the case if you serve wine before food, as food usually changes the taste of wine.  To be safe, you should choose wines with broad palette appeal.  This means wines that are low in acid and tannin (wines from Calldera wine categories c, d, g, k, h and l).

Calldera can help you find value wines 

Refer to recommendations in the Calldera wine app and the CALL DARA blog for value wine suggestions that will help you save money on wine purchases for your social gathering.