Very often people come into the wine store to buy something for a dinner host. The customer is often tempted to buy something to drink with the dinner without knowing what the dinner is. This leaves a lot of up to guess work, which is ill-advised, and it also winds-up creating an awkward circumstance for the host. Usually, the person hosting the dinner has already selected a wine that he or she wants to serve with the dinner. When the guest brings a wine, however, the host feels pressured to open the wine. Meanwhile, the dinner guest bought the wine blind, so the wine could be something the host doesn’t like!
What should you do instead? Follow these steps: 1) Answer first whether you were asked to bring the wine. If you are the kind of guest who offers, and the host wants you to be comfortable contributing, and the answer is “yes, bring wine” THEN ASK in that same conversation what to bring, or what is being served. The host knows what he or she likes to drink, so that might give you an easy answer.
If, however, the host is more interested in intelligent wine and food pairing, then he or she might tell you what is being served rather than a particular wine to bring. Keep your information about what food is being served, and take it to the wine store. Ask the sales staff for pairing information.
The third answer is that the host may need to get back to you with an answer — follow up! In all these cases, you will bring a wine that shows thoughtfulness and appreciation of being invited to dinner. If the answer is “no I was not asked to bring wine”, then follow the next step!
2) DO NOT bring wine that can be mistaken for something to serve with dinner. To show thoughtfulness, be creative. First of all, if you have any idea what is being served, bring a wine that absolutely will not pair well with the meal and explain to the host that the wine is not for dinner. If you don’t know what is being served, I can offer you some suggestions for products that can not be mistaken for dinner wine. Some good options are below:
•Hard liquor – many people these days enjoy mixed drinks, or a liquor straight-up on ice. If you know your host well, and you have seen him or her drink hard liquor, buy a nice bottle of the liquor — perhaps a better quality brand than what the host usually has at home. Sales staff can help identify that.
•Sparkling wine – first of all, in some instances your host may be happy to open this before dinner or during dessert. If that does not happen, this is an item that everyone likes, and can keep for the time when the host wants to open it. Sparkling wine like Prosecco or Cremant are not very expensive, and invite the host to open it during a fun holiday like Memorial Day or July 4th. Champagne is a better quality sparkling, and suggests to the host a special occasion to open the wine, such as a birthday, or a happy life event. Depending on your host and his or her position in life, you can choose either level of sparkling wine.
•Dessert wine – an often overlooked wine, dessert wines are sweet and tend to be something your host won’t otherwise have. They taste good with dessert, especially for a host with a sweet tooth. If the host is baking dessert, he or she will probably be very tempted to open this wine to make the wine and dessert a special event for you both. Sauternes and Tokaji are good wines for this option. Sauternes is French and well-known, Tokaji is Hungarian and becoming popular, making it a good buy for someone not as traditional in their wine options. There you have it! Three options for a gift to bring your dinner host that do not ask to be opened with the main meal, yet show appreciation for being invited. As always, planning and some thought can make you a better wine buyer for your family and friends. Enjoy!
