Bring better wine to your parties

What wine should I bring to parties and where do I find them?

When I arrive to a party, after greeting the host, the first thing I do is scout the drink selection. I love drinking. From the kitchen, I see my recurring enemy. It’s a handsome, mustachoied man, deadlifting two barrels attached to a barbell, and everyone is crowded around. He’s in every shop, every picnic, every party. I can’t escape him. He’s a pale orange liquid and goes by Gulp Hablo. It’s a skin contact orange wine and the only bottle open right now.

I’ve fallen into the same trap picking this bottle up. This isn’t a bad wine, but you could do much better. Wine shops are overwhelming. Everything looks basically the same except for the label and the price tags. We head to the $20 and under section and we grab whatever has the coolest label with some name we recognize. But if you know where to look and what to look for, you could find much tastier, interesting, easy-drinking wines that don’t break the bank.

Party wines are the new table-wines

A party wine isn’t an actual term. It’s my re-interpretation of a “table-wine”, like your Carlo Rossi or Franzia. Served in 1 liter kitchen glass jugs or in literal bags, seen everywhere, like your grandma’s kitchen or your first frat party. These are sweet bombs of grape juice.

So what is a party wine? A party wine is easy to drink and tasty. Light to medium body, lower ABV, well-priced and versatile enough to work in every setting, with or without food.

A party wine is kind of like Khruangbin, who described themselves as the “side dish that goes with everything… [like] rice… everybody loves rice.”

What’s a good party wine?

The ideal party wine is found in almost every wine shop. Most shops organize their wines by country. For me, the first region I look for is Italy.

Italy has one of the widest ranges of easy-drinking and affordable wines. My personal favorite party wine to bring is a Lambrusco, combining all the right elements to make good conversation: it’s juicy, fruity, sparkling, with red-cherry and black-fruit notes. Lambruscos range from dry-to-sweet, so make sure to ask your wine shop for off-dry Lambruscos under $25. Perfect pairing for charcuterie boards.

For something more bold, I love Montepulciano (named after a grape and a region). It’s a medium-body, off-dry, red wine with black fruit and peppery notes.

Pictured in the middle amongst the many drinks, Montepulciano from Tiberio, my current favorite producer. Goes fast in restaurants and even faster in wine shops.

My favorite white wines from Italy are Falaghina and Garganega wines because they’re incredibly refreshing. Light to medium body, with a touch of acid, citrus, stone fruit, and floral notes.

What if I bring a sparkling wine, like Champagne?

When you think of parties, you think of bubbles, and you’re probably thinking about Champagne. Good champagnes are expensive. Cava is much cheaper and comparable. Cava has a terrible reputation because most of the Cava produced is… actually terrible. Too sweet or too acidic. But Cava comes in different styles and forms. It’s considered the “Champagne of Spain” since it’s produced in the same style: using a traditional bottle-aging method. If you buy longer-aged Cava, or Reserva, you can find the same buttery and brioche notes you get from Champagne. At your wine shop, look for a Brut Reserva Cava.

Raventos i Blanc found in all shops and great for the price

Recommended list of party wines

Whites: Falanghina, Albarino, Garganega from Soave (rarer to find), Gewurtztraminer, Vinho Verde, Off-dry Riesling, Sancerre, Assyrtiko (rarer to find), Pinot Gris (from Oregon)

Reds: Montepulciano, Cote Du Rhône (GSM Blend), Beaujolais, Sangiovese, Gamay, Pinot Noir (from Oregon)

Sparkling: Brut Reserva Cava (White or Rosé), Lambrusco (Red)

Think of this list the next time you find yourself needing a last minute party wine or something quick to grab for dinner. When asking for recommendations at your local wine shop, the same rules apply from my previous post: How to order at a wine bar.

Drink well, drink responsibly! Appreciate you for reading.

If there’s any of your favorites that should’ve been added to this list, let me know below!