Dinner Party Wine: Host Edition

The dilemma:

You’re hosting a dinner party for ten people. You want to serve wine that is a good match for the food (let’s suppose you’re fancy and serving filet mignon) but you don’t want to take out a second mortgage on your home to do so (let’s suppose you’re not that fancy). What to do?

The quantity issue:

How much wine for ten people? A general rule of thumb is that you should be armed with a half bottle for each person present. So that makes it five bottles assuming your guests are relatively conservative in their drinking habits, considering the evening may stretch over several hours; except you wouldn’t dare want to run out; and what if your guests are unquenchable?

A bottle per person might seem like it’s pushing it, but it will guarantee that you won’t run out of booze. However, for those few responsible folks out there, who don’t want to risk their friends driving home under the influence at the end of the evening, or others who are counting on the likelihood of some guests bringing a bottle themselves, eight should suffice.

(FYI, if do go for the one bottle per person formula, certain stores like Larchmont Wine and Cheese offer a discount of 10% off a mixed case; in that situation, you might as well make it a dozen, as you’ll be getting a bottle+ for free once the discount is factored in.)

The quality issue:

So we’ve settled on eight bottles, and we’ve stated that you’re serving filet mignon. But you could just as well be serving flank steak or short ribs. Something beef-y. Or maybe chicken-y. A wine’s quality isn’t always shown in its price. Sometimes pricing is arbitrary, sometimes its a supply/demand thing, and sometimes it’s about perceived value as much as actual value.

So what we’ll do is suggest five sets of wine that will range in pricepoint from $6 to $60, and you can decide for yourself whether your rustic food requires rustic wine, or whether you want to provide a counterpoint to your food choice with a more refined beverage (or vice versa — remember, high price doesn’t necessarily mean refined, and low price doesn’t equate to rustic).

We’re also going to leave the real food/wine pairings up to you, since there is no perfect forumula for this. However, we do suggest you split the wine 75% red/25% white unless you’re serving something fish-y (in which case, split 50/50 since many people opt for red no matter what the food is).

So, here goes:

“Cheapskate” budget (8 bottles for under $50):
6 bottles 2005 Protocolo Tinto Spanish red wine, $6 each
2 bottles 2006 Protocolo Blanco Spanish white wine, $6 each

Notes: Okay, you can still do pretty well for even $6.00 a bottle. The Protocolo wines are great quality for the price. That’s not to say they’re fantastic. But they’re very servicable. The first key to their drinkability is the little logo on the bottle (see below) indicating the wine was imported by Jorge Ordonez. Ordonez brings in some fantastic Spanish wines to the US, at all different price-points.

FYI, the Tinto is made from Tempranillo grapes and this will offer a good counterpoint to any red meat dish. The white is some sort of combo of Airen and Macabeo grapes, neither of which we know a whole lot about. We do know that they, they pour it by the glass at tony LA hotspot A.O.C., so it has to be pretty good.

“I’m nice — but I’m not that nice” budget (8 bottles for $80):
6 bottles 2005 Ten Mile “The Broken Road” California Blend, $10 each
2 bottles 2005 Vinum Cellars CNW (Chard-No-Way) Chenin Blanc, Clarksburg, CA, $10 each

Notes: The Broken Road includes a wide range of grape varieties, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Barbera, Malbec and Carignane. It’s not like anything you’ve tasted, and this sense of uniqueness is pretty hard to come by for ten bucks. The Vinum CNW has great intensity and apples and honeysuckle on the nose. It’s zesty and will not bore anybody who decides to go for white. Both of these are home grown, US wines, so if you’re a conservative bunch you can talk politics and pat yourselves on the back for boosting the domestic economy.

“Hey, I actually am that nice” budget (8 bottles for $120):
6 bottles 2005 Dominique Piron Brouilly, $15 each
2 bottles 2005 Francois Chidaine Touraine Sauvignon Blanc, $11 each

Notes: Look, you even came in a few bucks under budget by getting the Chidaine Touraine. Chidaine one of the hottest producers from France and the Loire Valley, and his wines are all biodynamically made. As for the Piron Brouilly, this is a wine that is bright and fruity enough to pair with roast chicken, but earthy and structured enough to pair with a rib-eye. Very sophisticated choices.

“I am the best host ever” budget (8 bottles for $150):
6 bottles 2005 Pellissero Dolcetto d’Alba “Munfrina”, $20 (or under) each
2 bottles 2005 Terlan Alto Adige Pinot Bianco, $15 each

Notes: Now you’re taking your guests on a voyage to Italy. The Dolcetto has a texture and an earthiness, as well as a bite to it that will spice up your meal. The Pinot Bianco has a minerality that is balanced by a smooth, silky texture, along with fruit that emerges in subtle ways. These aren’t your typical Ruffino Chianti or Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio, even if they are around the same price. These are bang for your buck choices that show thought and sophistication.

“No, I am the best host ever” budget (8 bottles for $200):
6 bottles 2005 Yangarra “Cadenzia” Grenache-Shiraz-Mouverdre, $25 each
2 bottles 2006 Cloudy Bay Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, $25 each

Notes: These two Southern Hemisphere wines are bound to stir up conversation. Cloudy Bay is the wine that put New Zealand on the map for Sauvignon Blanc, and considered a top producer. Now spearheaded by winemaker Peter Fraser, Yangarra is really cranking up its quality and its blend of old vines Grenache, Shiraz and Mouverdre is a versatile food-wine.

“Okay, so now I’m just trying to impress the shit out of you” budget (8 bottles for $400):
6 bottles 2004 Pahlmeyer “Jayson” Napa Valley Proprietary Red, $60 each
2 bottles 2005 Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay, $40 each

Notes: If you’re serving filet mignon and want to go the whole nine yards, then these two wines are for you. Don’t get us wrong, you could be spending a whole lot more on wine (or a whole lot less), but why spend more when you can do as well as this? The “Jayson” is a Bordeaux style blend, with a touch of oak but nothing too over the top; the Newton Chard is rich and luscious.

Although we might normally have picked wines that are have more perceived uniqueness than these two, we wanted to highlight wines that you can actually find in stores, so we picked ones with significant production. These should be relatively available at finer wine stores.

Pre-dinner
Also, since your guests are sure to arrive at different times, you might choose to offer a nice little fizzy number at the start of the evening. As usual, there’s something to meet every budget:

Cheap: Cristalino Brut Cava NV, under $8/bottle

Mid-level: Lucien Albrecht Cremant NV Rosé, $15/bottle

Generous: Agrapart & Fils Blanc de Blancs NV Champagne, $30/bottle

Fancy Schmancy: 1998 Pol Roger Brut Champagne, $60/bottle

Where to find:

As we often do, we suggest you go to Wine-Searcher to track down these items. We’ve been pretty careful to select wines that are both readily available, as well as ones we don’t stock ourselves (with an exception here or there).

Why on earth would we steer people to other sellers? A) We’re stupid…and B) We want you to seek out your local wine shop and support smaller businesses like The Wine Country in Signal Hill, California, or The Wine Boutique in Mount Kisco, New York. Places like these should be on your regular wine exploration route, as they have knowledgeable staff and a more personal bent than, say, Costco or BevMo!. Or, you can always email us (info at domaine547 dot com) to ask us for items we carry that fit your specific needs.

Now, go get yourself some wine and have a great dinner party, dammit.

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