Smart, Best Wines for Entertaining

Are you planning to entertain this holiday season? Satisfying everyone’s tastes while staying within your budget is a tricky task. You will want all your guests to enjoy what they are drinking and also want to avoid having lacklustre, budget-friendly wines left over.

Entertaining often involves a variety of dishes that offer a diverse range of ingredients, flavours, textures, and preparation methods. From roasted to baked and raw to aged, what is the key to finding the best red and white wines to complement all that you plan to serve this holiday season? Identifying versatile pairing wines is the key to having the best wines enhancing your thoughtfully prepared foods.

What is the Best White Wine for Entertaining?

When it comes to serving the best white wine for entertaining versatility is key! Medium to full-bodied unoaked whites work best with different types of food and seem to get the proper balance between light and crisp, and big and buttery styles. If we can only recommend one white to work the party it'll be:

2020 Alto Adige Pinot Grigio, Peter Zemmer

A very fresh, clean pinot grigio with lovely honeydew-melon and summer-herb character and a neat balance of generous fruit with lively acidity. Polished, long finish. Drink now. Score - 91. (jamessuckling.com, May 13, 2021)

Only $17.95 > Available through Vintages #95802

What is the Best Red Wine for Entertaining?

For guests that prefer drinking red wine while socializing and grazing, choose fruit-forward, low tannin, light or un-oaked reds that will perform best with raw or delicately flavoured foods that many other reds would clash with. If we have to make one choice the ideal party red would be:

2019 Ormanni Chianti

Ormanni produces their Chianti from their Poggibonsi vineyards; located outside the borders of the historic Chianti Classico region. A wine that is versatile and built to enjoy in its youth; but holds the structure to enjoy with a some age.

A bright and savoury expression of Sangiovese; the wine is filled with tart and ripe red cherries, red currants and gooseberries. There are notes of black tea, snap twig, leather and cured meat to perfectly complement the fruit. The wine is dry, medium bodied, with nicely integrated tannins and refreshing acidity.

Only $18.95