The invitation arrived with your name on it, an address to arrive at and a time. You have no idea what is on the menu but it would be rude not to bring a bottle of wine for this very special occasion. As you enter the wine shop you look at the thousands of bottles lining the walls; you are overwhelmed with an awesome feeling at the pit of your stomach and one question on your mind, "How will I ever pick a wine?" What do you do?
The trick is to pick a wine that will pair with almost everything or a wine that is well liked. While not every wine pairs well with every food dish, there are certainly wines that have a broader pairing base than others. These are the wines that you need to know so that you will be the hero of the party. Also, you need to know your crowd. How formal is the crowd that will be drinking the wine? Not that people at formal parties know anymore about wine than everyone else but because they tend to be more affluent then chances are they know what to look for in a good wine. Finally, resign yourself to the fact that because you do not know what food will be served at the party that might not be the best way to pick a wine. Perhaps you should pick the wine based on its popularity with the drinkers.
There are five names to remember when you are invited to a party and you would like to bring a wine but know what the menu is going to be:
| 1) Riesling |
4) Shiraz |
| 2) Pinot Noir |
5) Sparkling wine |
| 3) Chardonnay |
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Generally speaking, Riesling is acidic. This is great for food! Acid stimulates the palate and prepares the drinker for eating. Acid will also help cut the heaviness of cream sauces or fats that might be present in the foods. Riesling is also a sure bet with white wine drinkers. Riesling comes both sweet and dry, so this will be another decision that you will need to make. The average wine drinker likes a wine with a little sweetness to it. For this reason you might want to pick an off-dry or semi-sweet Riesling. Another benefit to a Riesling wine that fits this profile is the fact that this wine pairs with spicy foods.
Featured as the ultimate wine in the Academy Award nominated movie Sideways, Pinot Noir will be a point of conversation. The wines made from the Pinot Noir grape tend to be light to medium bodied and full of plum, truffle, cherry, raspberry and oak flavors. They also tend to be some of the best-celebrated wine in the world. Pinot Noir tends to pair well with food too so this is an added bonus when picking this wine. It is a red wine that can make the cross-over with grilled salmon or even shrimp.
The most popular white wine is Chardonnay— so this wine is a sure bet for taking to a party. Chardonnay is grown all over the world and this full-bodied wine is very familiar to wine lovers and non-wine lovers alike. All of the great white Burgundies are made with this grape and many other wineries worldwide produce Chardonnay wine. California makes a very oaky, buttery style Chardonnay while Australia makes a very fruit forward style with lots of body. One of the downsides to picking Chardonnay wine is that this wine does not pair with a wide variety of food (as it tends to be very full for a white grape)— but because most of the people at the party don’t know this and because of this wine’s popularity this doesn’t really matter very much.
A very old but newly trendy grape from Australia makes a medium to full-bodied red wine that is a favorite with people both to say and to drink. The Shiraz grape is also known as Syrah in France where it is known to make Hermitage and Côte Rôtie. In Australia, this grape grows almost everywhere but is most famous in the Barossa Valley in South Australia and the Hunter Valley in New South Wales. Shiraz is very food friendly and tends to be a little sweet on the palate with undertones of chocolate. This wine will tend to be very full-bodied for a party but again the popularity of this wine will outweigh any void in food pairing that might happen. It is great with grilled foods and for everyday drinking.
If all else fails, sparkling wine is the way to go. Sparkling wine pairs well with many foods from steak to chicken or from fish to lamb or even vegetables. The bubbles even allow sparking wine to pair well with spicy foods. Another great part of sparking wine is that these wines scream, "party!" Most people think of sparkling wines as being very expensive but this is not always the case. Very good sparkling wine is being made outside of Champagne, France for a fraction of the cost of true Champagne. Another development is red sparkling wines…most people have had sparkling wines but have not had red sparkling wine. Look for one and be insured that this wine will be the life of the party.
Something else you might look for is a local or obscure winery. Think about this one for a moment. The wine that you buy from one of these wineries might not pair very well with the food that is being served but you can easily pass this fact off with the promise of the adventure of trying a new wine. A local winery can be a huge hit at a party because supporting a local winery is like supporting a local sports team. Everyone likes the local team even if it might just be a passing fad. Local wineries can be a hit or miss proposition, so you might want to taste the wine before you commit to taking the wine to a party. If you like the wine, then take it to the party and then see what everyone else thinks.
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