“What wine should I bring to a dinner party?”

That’s a question we get pretty often here at Elma Wine & Liquor.

My usual response is, “Whatever kind of wine you like!”

I know a lot of people think that’s counterintuitive and you should take care of your host or hostess by choosing something that they like. That is a great idea as long as you know what they like.

Most of the people that ask for advice aren’t quite sure. It’s a boss, it’s a colleague, it’s a distant relative that they don’t see very much. So they’re not really sure what kind of wine the person drinks.

If that’s the situation you find yourself in then I usually recommend getting something that you know you’ll enjoy. Usually, when you go to somebody’s house the host or hostess opens the bottle of wine that you brought, so that way, at least you can be pretty sure that you’ll get something to drink that you like.

In the worst case scenario, if the host or hostess doesn’t open the wine they can always take it somewhere else with them.

Do You Know What Your Host Likes?

If you do know what they like, then you have a couple options. You can either get the exact brand and type of wine that they like.  If you only know a style or a grape variety that they like then you can ask for help at your local wine store to select something similar.  This helps get them out of their comfort zone a little bit and exposes them to something new.

So that’s my basic advice for what to bring to somebody’s house when you’re invited to dinner and you’re not exactly sure what to bring.

Just bring something you like and at least you’ll be happy!

Thanks for reading and please let us know if you have any feedback in the comments below. Or let us know what other questions you want answered.

In case you missed our last video on What Vintage Means, you can check it out here.