Nine Practical Steps to Choosing Wine for Your Next Party

 

Selecting the right wine for your party can be a daunting task, but do not lose heart dear one! I have nine short, practical, easy-to-follow steps that will help you confidently navigate the wine aisle while preparing for any event.

You are going to need a calculator. Don’t get scared, if I can do the math, anyone can.

 #1 Know the wine drinkers in your audience

Your event focus is wine, so first you need to know how many wine drinkers might show up on party day.  Because not everyone drinks wine, the total number of wine drinkers in attendance will likely be distinct from and fewer than the total number of guests.  The number of wine drinkers can be approximated using the following ratios.

• If you’ll also be serving beer and spirits, plan on 50% of all partygoers choosing wine.

• If you skip the spirits but still serve beer, plan on 60% of all partygoers choosing wine.

How many wine drinkers did you calculate?  Write this number down.  You’ll need it in a couple steps.

#2 Apply the average alcohol intake rule to the total number of wine drinkers

Two-drinks-per-person-per-hour is a rule of thumb that has been helping party planners for years and it is still accurate today.

So, assuming each guest consumes two alcoholic drinks per hour, you can multiply the total number of wine drinkers by two to determine how many glasses of wine you’ll need to serve each hour in order to keep up with your thirsty guests.

*Bonus Tip: Because this rule depends on a mathematical average, be sure to assign two drinks to every guest, even those who will not drink alcohol.

 #3 Know how long your event might take

Next, consider how long your event is likely to last, measured in hours.  In other words, how many hours do you think will pass between the first guest’s arrival and the final guest’s departure?   Guess high if you’re unsure, and round the number up regardless — overpreparing for a small crowd can be a frustrating experience, but it’s much worse being pulled aside at a party that has already kicked happily into high gear, only to be told in whispers that the last bottle just got polished off, so someone needs to make a store run, stat.  Avoid this scenario.  No one wants to run errands during a party, and as host you simply won’t have time to drop everything and address the issue personally.

Most get-togethers can be enjoyed by all and wrapped up by the host within four hours.  Use this number as a baseline if you’re stumped on figuring time.  Keep in mind too that daytime social functions tend to conclude quicker than their evening counterparts.

How many hours did you come up with?  Make a note of this number and put it with the number you wrote down during step one.  I promise you’re almost done with numbers!

#4 Know how many glasses are contained in a bottle of wine.

 

Depending on serving size, a 750 ml bottle of wine will typically pour out five full glasses.  Round up to whole bottles if extra glasses are left over after calculation (nine glasses of wine would require 1.8 bottles of wine to pour (9 ÷ 5), but bottles are not sold in fractions so two full bottles are needed).

#5 Split red and white wine quantities using the 60/40 rule

It’s a good idea to buy both red and white wines when stocking up for an event.  If you’re not sure how many bottles of which to bring home, use the 60/40 rule.

• If your party will be held in hot weather or is scheduled to end before 5 o’clock, 60% of your wine should be white and 40% should be red.

• In cooler temperature or for parties that begin in the evening, go with 40% white and 60% red.

*Bonus Tip: Buying wine in bulk can provide significant cost savings over retail prices.

#6 Include a sparkling option

Sparkling wine isn’t just for wedding toasts and New Year’s Day!  It can turn any gathering into a celebration, and your guests will love the unexpected treat.

After every sixth bottle of wine you purchase, select a sparkling and count it as a white wine under the 60/40 rule.

*Bonus Tip: Prosecco is an Italian sparkling wine known for its quality and affordability.

 #7 Do the math

To demonstrate how everything fits together, we’ll see if we can pull off wine duties for a pretend party we’ve just offered to host on short notice.  Assume twenty RSVPs have been received, and that the party will start at 1pm on a weekend in August.  Guests will be served a mix of wine, beer, and cocktails.

Solution

The ratio from step one tells us to expect twelve wine drinkers out of the twenty total guests attending.

20 × 60% = 12 wine-drinking guests

According to the average alcohol intake rule, each guest will consume two drinks per hour.  Thus, twelve guests will drink twenty-four glasses of wine every hour.

12 × 2 = 24 glasses of wine per hour

All that’s left is to decide how late the party will go.  Let’s say three hours.  Twenty-four drinks per hour over the course of three hours equates to seventy-two glasses of wine.

24 × 3 = 72 glasses of wine

One bottle of wine holds five glasses; we need fifteen bottles to cover seventy-two.

72 ÷ 5 = 15 bottles of wine (rounded up)

Our party is taking place during a hot month and it’s starting in the early afternoon, so following the 60/40 rule we pick 60% white and 40% red.

15 × 60% = 9 bottles of white

15 × 40% = 6 bottles of red

Lastly, we want to grab a bottle of sparkling for every sixth bottle of regular wine we buy.  In our case, this means we’ll take home two bottles of sparkling.

15 ÷ 6 = 2 bottles of sparkling (rounded down)

Sparkling always counts as a white wine using the 60/40 rule, so we reduce our number of white wine bottles by two.

9 bottles of white ˗ 2 bottles of sparkling = 7 bottles of white

The result below represents the final wine order for our pretend party.

15 bottles of wine for the party:  7 bottles of white  +  2 bottles of sparkling  +  6 bottles of red

#8 Keep it simple when selecting the bottles of wine

Once you know how much wine you will need to purchase don’t overthink the wine list and don’t feel the need to impress anyone. Not every bottle needs to be labeled differently or contain a different type of varietal.  It’s perfectly acceptable to buy (and serve) multiple bottles of the same brand.  If you recently fell in love with a particular Merlot that sells for $8 but you think your guests will love it too, feel free to skip the fancier Syrah this time, even if you’ve always offered it before.  Wine should be relaxing and fun!

Here are some white and red varietal suggestions based on seasons:

White

Chardonnay, Gewürztraminer, Grüner Veltliner, Riesling, and Viognier are great choices in fall and winter.

Spring and summer options include Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Chenin Blanc, Muscat, and white Bordeaux.

Red

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Zinfandel, Malbec, and Petit Sirah are wonderful winter wines.

For spring and summer drinking, try Pinot Noir, Gamay, Grenache, Sangiovese, and Tempranillo.

*Bonus Tip: Ask wine store staff for help if you are feeling overwhelmed. They’re often very helpful and eager to share their knowledge.

#9 Be confident

This final tip is the one I want you to remember most, okay?

Your guests are coming to your party because they want to enjoy the company of friends and loved ones, which probably includes you!  Have fun with them, be proud of yourself for bringing everyone together, don’t get caught up in the need to be a perfect host or the smartest wine mind in the room.  If you’ve followed all the steps, you’ve already succeeded in giving your guests the gift of great wine, and in turn you get to watch them experience it.  Observe their reactions — offer assistance or a different type of wine if someone makes a sour face; guests who are obviously enjoying their glasses might appreciate hearing how you chose the wine you did, or learning about the bottles you’ve been saving for memorable occasions.

Above all, remember that wine is an excellent conductor of conversation.  You don’t even have to throw a party to see the proof — simply sit down across from someone special, raise your glasses, swirl, sniff, and let the wine go to work.  It’s pretty remarkable stuff.

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The nine steps set forth in this post can immediately and permanently simplify your wine buying experience.  You now have all the tools you need to create an awesome wine list and ensure your party never runs dry.  Best of all, forevermore you’ll be able to say that you’ve cracked the code of the wine aisle, and you’ll be able to teach others to do the same.

Cheers!