Let's Plan A Wine Party

Photo: Testing Room Wine Potomac

If you don't have the time to put together a full dinner party, try hosting a simple wine party.

According to experts at Walmart, serve 1/2 bottle of wine per person. As an example, for 10 people set out 3 bottles of red (such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignan, Pinot Noir, Gamay) and 2 bottles of white (like Chardonnay, Champagne, Riesling, Moscato). Rosé is made from white wine grapes.

It is suggested that the red be chilled for 15 minutes and the white for one hour. A confession: I like my red wine chilled and tend to keep it in the refrigerator, but for guests I chill it the proper way. If I'm at your party, you may see me slip an ice cube into my glass of red wine.

When I buy wine, I always ask the wine seller to help me select red wines low on tannin. Tannin comes from the skins, seeds and stems of red grapes. Although it gives red wine its health benefits, tannin can taste dry and astringent without a nice juicy steak to balance the sharpness. If guests sip wine without heavy food, a red wine low in tannins is often more palatable.

I like to set out a cheese platter to nosh as people drink the wine, and I often serve a pot of homemade hot soup also. (What can I say, I'd rather eat then drink.) With soup, guests can grab a mug and spoon to serve themselves.

Walmart says, serve light food (like mild cheese, fruit, nuts) with white wine and

rich food (such as robust cheese, ham, sausage) with red. Although Brie is a mild cheese and extra sharp cheddar is robust, they both taste sensational paired with either red or white wine, in my opinion. So there is no need to split hairs, delicious nibbles will always be a hit!

Hosting a wine party is a classy idea without the stress of a full dinner. Most of the work is done in advance, letting you spend time catching up with your guests.

My take away tip from Walmart is the amount of alcohol to serve. One-half bottle per person is a good rule of thumb. That's 2 glasses for each guest. I might add two extra bottles of wine per ten people. Because: What if someone went over his drinking allotment?

Photo: henryhearld.com 

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