A dinner party is a lot of fun but requires thorough preparation. The hardest part of planning a party is not only inviting people and making a guest list but also making food selections for the guests to enjoy.
After the menu is set, the next major decision is the wines to be served. The trick is choosing bottles that appeal to various tastes while going well with the food. Keep reading to find out what wines go well with certain courses.
Why Are Wines the Best for Dinner Parties?
Nothing beats gathering with loved ones to share a great dinner, interesting discussion, and elegant wine. An unwritten rule is that guests to formal dinner parties should bring a wine bottle.
The concept of wine as a complement to a meal instead of a standalone beverage encourages moderate consumption. Choosing an elegant bottle to complement your meal is a great way to wow your guests and control your intake.
One of the best arguments favoring wine with meals is reducing the likelihood of a hangover the following day. Alcohol consumed on an empty stomach is absorbed into circulation at a much faster rate.
Drinking wine with food slows this system and protects your liver. It is by keeping the alcohol in the stomach, where it begins to break down, for a longer period.
List of Wines That Are Best For Dinner Parties
The perfect wine for a dinner party is subjective, depending on the attendees’ tastes and the dishes being served. Yet, if you lack confidence in these areas, there are several tried-and-true options you can stick with. The following is a list of wines that are ideal for dinner parties.
1. Red Wines
There is just one color of wine available to you when you settle down to enjoy your entree. And it’s red. It’s a classic combination.
Red wine and a juicy steak. Even though it seems ridiculous, coordinating colors is truly a thing that can be done. Online wine merchants like World Wine often suggest cabernet sauvignon as the finest red wine for dinner parties.
Medium-bodied merlot complements both red and white meat, particularly chicken. Serve a glass of pinot noir and a charcuterie board laden with savory meats and cheeses as a side dish at the end of the meal.
Do something unique for your party to make it unforgettable. You may try sourcing your red wine from far-flung places you wouldn’t often associate with the production of red wine.
If you’re looking for a change of pace, try a wine from Germany or Austria. Or a pinot noir from Tasmania. In addition, online wine stores make it simple to get these rare vintages at reasonable costs. Don’t bother going out in the shop if you want to take advantage of the cheap wines you can find online.
2. A Bottle of White Wine
Do we have any chardonnay connoisseurs here? In that case, you probably know this beverage pairs wonderfully with white meat. Serve a chilled Chenin blanc with pork, poultry, or fish meals. Conversely, a pinot grigio would be an excellent pairing if you serve steamed, grilled, or roasted green veggies.
A glass of sweet white wine is the perfect accompaniment to an appetizer. Savory appetizers go nicely with both sweet and fruity desserts. It’s okay to pair Moscato with mollusks and soft cheese. The savennières are a good alternative to the Moscato if you don’t like sweet wines.
They pair especially nicely with the roasted asparagus. This bottle is often used in promotions for inexpensive wine sold online.
3. Dinner Party Dessert Wines
Unfortunately, many diners don’t finish their meals with a glass of anything sweet. Several dessert wines stand independently as culinary masterpieces, so you may feel free to choose one of them instead. Enjoying a glass of wine after dinner is a great way to relax and chat with your guests.
There must be something supplied with the desserts if there are bottles to go with the savory courses. This is the perfect time for a sweet dessert wine.
Every cheese board will benefit from adding a traditional port, and a full-bodied fortified wine will temper the sweetness of chocolate.
On the other hand, the fact that a dessert wine is sweet and flavorful enough to stand in for dessert itself may be its greatest asset. It may be the ideal approach to unwinding dinner without pressuring guests who are already full after a fantastic meal to eat more.
4. Serve Bitter Wines
Like those found in bitter wines, wines with a high tannin concentration may be used to mask the fat flavor. Thus, fatty meats like ribeye steaks, top sirloin steaks, and New York strip meat go well with bitter wines.
Due to their higher tannin content, red wines tend to have a stronger bitterness than their white counterparts. Hence, if the dinner table menu includes fatty steaks, a bitter red wine such as pinot noir would be an excellent pairing.
5. Champagnes And Other Sparkling Wines
Sparkling wines come in various colors, not only white: rosé and crimson are options. Prosecco and champagne, known for their fizz, are the two most common types of sparkling wine.
You may get sparkling wines from a single grape variety or a combination of many. These wines pair well with flavorful, texturally complex desserts and delicate meat or vegetarian entrees.
6. Rosé Wines
To create rose wine, red wine grape juice is macerated with grape skins for a short period. The wine’s delicate pink hue comes from its brief touch with the skins of the grapes used to make it.
Rose wine comes in various styles, including rich, dry, and sparkling. While most Roses are best consumed young, sparkling roses like dom perignon may be cellared for up to 40 years.
The hue of rose wine may vary from light pink to transparent crimson. In addition to strong acidity and little tannins, it also boasts many fruity flavors.
It is a versatile wine that pairs nicely with various foods. Many often assume that rosé is a blend of red and white wine, strictly forbidden in the winemaking industry.
Find Out More About Dinner Party Wines
Serving fine wine during a dinner gathering shows you care about their enjoyment. It is important that your guests enjoy themselves, feel at ease, and feel included in the event.
Choose a wide range of wines so your guests can experiment and discover new pairings. Having a local wine store or other wine specialist help you choose the perfect wine and meal combo is the greatest approach to ensure success.
