Serving Wine at Dinner

Serving Wine at Your Dinner Party

Whether you are planning to host a small dinner party of 4-8 people or a romantic dinner for 2, the following suggestions can help you simplify your wine choices and serving needs. Also go to our blog at www.wineranddiner.blogspot.com for more entertaining with wine ideas.

WHERE TO BEGIN:

When planning or organizing anything you always need a starting point. When planning to host a dinner party usually the next decision to be made after determining your guest list is what to serve. There are some basic guidelines to consider when determining what to prepare. For example consider the following;

*the time of year,

*your guests food likes and dislikes,

*your budget, and just as important

*what you are comfortable preparing.

Depending on how seasoned a host or hostess you are, choosing to prepare a meal you have already prepared successfully can take away a majority of your stress the day of the dinner party.

SELECT YOUR WINE OR WINES:

Your wine selection is next. Which type of wine you will choose to serve depends on what you choose as your main entree for your meal. The basic rule of thumb is a fuller, dryer red wine, such as a cabernet is typically served with red meats. If you choose a lighter fair such as a chicken dish, a white wine is usually the best choice. For more detailed help on wine and food pairing go to Articles on the Navigation Menu of this site and click on Wine and Food Pairing and you will find a tool by NatDecants.com to help you choose what wine would fit best with your main course selection.

FINISHING TOUCHES:

The meal is cooking, the wine has been pulled from the cellar, or wine closet. Final preparation is setting the table. How fancy or formal you wish to get is up to you. Key points to keep in mind when setting up your table;

* Center piece(s) should not block the view of the person(s) across the table. Keep center pieces either low or high where the main focus of the piece is either above or below the line of site of the people around the table.

* If choosing a theme, make sure it compliments the tone of the meal you are serving. You don't want a fancy white table setting with crystal and china and then serve panini sandwiches and chips.

However you choose to serve your meal and side dishes, keep in mind how the food moves between your guests. If serving the food from your table, the host or hostess should start by serving the main course and passing it counter clockwise. All side dishes should follow suit. If serving your meal buffet style, leave the main dish on the buffet at the end you want to line to begin. Next to the main dish should be your dishes. Have the side dishes follow. End with napkins and silverware.

SERVING YOUR WINE(S):

The easiest way to decide how to serve your wine is to determine whether your dinner party is formal, semi-formal or casual. If you are doing a buffet, then setting up a wine bar area would be appropriate. Using your wine racks is an excellent way of displaying and serving your wine whether you are serving your food buffet style or on the table. Using a wine rack keeps your wine selection close at hand, and when one bottle is finished you have another one quickly and easily available to serve. Your guests can even help themselves.

Most red wines need to breathe before serving and should be served at room temperature which is actually just above cellar temperature or around 65 degrees. Pouring your wine into a nice wine decanter is also an efficient and elegant way to serve red wine while allowing it more room to properly breathe.

White wines need to be chilled, but only for 1- 2 hours prior to serving so they are not too cold. Serving white wine too cold can diminish some of the flavors of the wine. If you store your white wines in your refrigerator and not in a wine rack, then remove the wine 30 - 40 minutes prior to serving to give the wine time to become a little warmer. In time and with practice you will begin to determine more clearly the temperature at which you prefer to drink your wines.

Just before dinner is served have your guests go to your wine rack and look at your wine selection and choose what they would like to drink. If having a romantic dinner for 2 it is only necessary to have 1 selection of wine. A smaller wine rack that holds the bottle and wine glasses works perfectly especially if you are wanting your date to pour the wine. Just place the wine rack with bottle and glasses on the table to the right of the person who will be pouring the wine.

Finally everything is ready and the guests have arrived. Your wine has been artfully organized and displayed in your wine rack. Now all that needs to be done is for you to enjoy. Bon Apetite!