Bringing Wine? Tips to Pick the Perfect Bottle
Help! I’m going to a dinner party, the hosts are really into wine, and I only drink Yellow Tail.
It’s officially summer, and if you’re like many Americans, you’ll be attending several dinner parties and BBQs over the next few months. And, if you’re anything like me, your standard go-to gift for the host is a bottle of wine. If the host isn’t particularly into wine, this does not pose too much of a problem. But if they are, you might be feeling a touch of ‘holy crap, what kind of wine should I get them’ anxiety. So here are some hints and wine selections to point you in the right direct. There are several wines I intentionally left off the list because everyone gets/suggests them, and I personally think they’re a bit over-rated — Caymus, Silver Oak, Nickle & Nickle/Far Niente, Duckhorn, etc. Normally, I’d prefer to offer selections from small, boutique producers — but unfortunately you can’t find many of them in your liquor store. Most of the wines below should be pretty easy to find.
Before we get to the wine recommendations, however, here are a few hints to keep in mind.
Tip #1 Don’t ever, ever bring Barefoot or Yellow Tail as a gift unless it’s a White Elephant party.
Just trust me on this one. Also, stay away from any bottle that in any way resembles a jug or some other irregular shape. Keep clear of boxes too. A holiday party gift to the host is not the place, whether true or not, to say: ‘but this box wine is actually good.’
Tip #2: If the host is into wine, you’re probably going to want to start at a minimum $20 price point.
Yes, yes, I know — there are a ton of excellent bottles below $20. If your hosts truly are ‘into wine’ rather than just ‘drink a lot of wine’ (there is a difference), your odds of successfully finding a bottle they’ll enjoy are much high at the $20+ level. Price is not necessarily a proxy for quality, but there is definitely some correlation.
Tip #3: Cabernet Sauvignon is an expensive grape, and if it’s coming out of Napa, it’s even more expensive.
You’ll typically get more wine for your buck if you venture away from Cab and out of Napa. That said, on average you’re better off sticking with red than going to white or bubbles. Simply, more people like reds than whites or bubbles. Sticking with the more famous varietals commonly grown in America (think Merlot, Pinot Noir, or Zinfandel) is usually the better option than going with something more unusual such as (Gewurztraminer, Nero D’Avola, or Petite Verdot), all wine varietals I may love but your host may not.
Tip #4: Unless your state borders an ocean (preferably the Pacific one, and you don’t live in Hawaii or Alaska), usually going for a local wine is not a good choice.
While many states have a few wines that make the grade — your odds of finding one of those from a state other than California, Oregon, or Washington is low. And, while wines from overseas can be fantastic, on average by price, you’ll find higher quality wine domestically than internationally.
Tip #5: Don’t have time to go to the liquor store? Check out Drizly.com.
Depending upon your location, they have a large selection of wine. Make an order, and they’ll deliver it to you within an hour.
Tip #6: Depending upon your host, consider not bringing wine at all.
Instead check with them and bring an appetizer, dessert, or flowers. We’d always rather receive a tasty appetizer at one of our parties than a bottle of wine we’d never drink.
So, with those general thoughts out of the way, here are the wines:
I don’t want to embarrass myself: $20 — $30
- Folie à Deux Cabernet Sauvignon — $20.00: It’s a great wine for the price and one of my go-to daily wines. If you’re feeling a bit crazy (or if you think your host is) then this is the wine for you. Folie à Deux is a psychiatric term for a delusion shared by two people. When people look at me blankly when I describe the psychiatric term and its meaning — I always remind them of the Randy and Evi Quaid “Star Whackers” incident a few years ago, where the movie star and his wife seemed to feed on each other’s delusions. This is what psychiatrists call a Folie à Deux. The reason behind the wineries name was that in 1981, two wine-loving psychiatrists decided to go into the wine business and because they knew it was crazy, they named their wine — Folie à Deux. Although it has since been bought by one of the largest family-run independent wineries, the Cabernet (or even Merlot) from the now famous producer of Manage à Trois is a fun, interesting, and drinkable wine.
- Fess Parker The Big Easy — $28.99: Poor Santa Barbara, while its wines rival the best of its more northerly cousins of Napa and Sonoma, the wine region north of Los Angeles containing such amazing places as Saint Ynez Valley never seem to get that much attention. Perhaps the one exception is the movie Sideways, filmed in the Santa Barbara wine country, though many people assume it takes place in Napa. You may recall the scene from that movie at the overly commercialized winery, Frass Canyon, where Paul Giamatti mocks the wine, and later drinks from the spit bucket — that scene was filmed at Fess Parker. But, I’ve been to Fess Parker, and I can assure you that it is nothing like the Frass Canyon from the movie. These wines, unlike many others from Santa Barbara, are easily available in the liquor store, and Fess Parker makes some fantastic wines for the price point.
- Beringer Knights Valley — $28.99: I’m not the biggest fan of most Beringer wines, but I do love their Knights Valley Cabernet. This is also one of my go-to every day wines. It’s Beringer’s finest wine that’s readily available. Knight’s Valley sits just north of Napa Valley, a place where a number of great wines are grown but lacks the tasting rooms of Napa Valley. It’s reliable, predictable, and great for the price.
- B.R. Cohn Silver Label — $23.99: B.R. Cohn, located in Sonoma Valley, makes a number of great wines. This is the least expensive of their wines, but also the most readily available. When people ask us what Sonoma wines we like that taste and feel like Napa wines, without the Napa price, this is one of the first ones we think of.
I want to look like I know what I’m doing: $30 — $50
- Trinchero Chicken Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon — $36.00: I’m a big fan of most things Trinchero does, but I’m especially fond of their Chicken Ranch Cab. It’s a good solid bottle of wine at a decent price. Trichero is the top label of the Sutter Home Winery, partially owned and run by Bob Trinchero. Bob is most famous for creating (if you believe the stories, by accident) White Zinfandel. This small passion project — the Trinchero label — part of the larger Sutter Home conglomerate, is surprisingly good, and one we’re always pleased when a guest brings.
- Orin Swift’s The Prisoner — $38.00: Orin Swift puts out some excellent wines and this is one of them. We commonly receive this bottle as a gift and enjoy it every time. It’s unusual enough to not seem like a standard every-day wine, but common enough to be readily available. And, the artistic and a bit different bottle label is an eye-catcher.
- Sanford Pinot Noir Santa Rita Hills — $39.99: Pinot Noir is my favorite varietal, and I discovered Sanford during blind tasting charity event we held a couple of years ago. I was shocked that tasting it blind, I chose it over the Pinot I brought to the charity event. Even my husband loves this wine, despite what he considers to be a “girly” label of flowers.
- Frank Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon — $48.99: Yummy, yummy, yummy. If I was condemned to just drink one wineries’ wine for the rest of my life, had a fair amount of money, but did not have unlimited money, Frank Family might well be my choice. With a tasting room sitting at the base of Howell Mountain in Napa, this winery puts out a number of amazing wines, some more affordable than others. This wine is fairly easily to find, and anything from this winery is hard to forget.
I want to impress them: $50+
- Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (Artemis) Cabernet Sauvignon — $50.00: Be careful on this one — be sure to get Stag’s Leap Wine CELLARS and not Stag’s Leap WINERY. The names and labels are very similar but personally I feel Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is a much better wine. Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars is historically one of the most famous wines. In the Judgment of Paris, the 1976 French blind tasting of American wines versus French wines that made Napa world-famous, the highest rated red wine was the 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. It beat such famous Bordeaux wines as Chateau Mouton-Rothschild and Chateau Haut-Brion. The Artemis I recommend to bring to a party is Stag’s Leap’s base level wine, but frankly, it’s my favorite of their wines, and every time I taste it I feel like I’m tasting a bit of history.
- Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon — $56.99: I’ve been a fan of Jordan wine for about 6 years now — ever since I did a tasting at their vineyard in a fantastic hidden wine room.
- Orin Swift Papillion — $65.99: This is another Orin Swift wine that is excellent. It’s a bit pricier than The Prisoner, but I’ve found that a lot of people have had the Prisoner but haven’t had the chance to experience Papillion. It will impress your hosts if they already know the Prisoner.
- Grgich Hills Cabernet Sauvignon — $69.99: This is a fantastic wine but most stores carry recent vintages and it really needs to age for several years before it’s actually ready. Be sure to tell your host to hold on to it for a while (10 years) or to allow a ton of time decanting the wine before drinking it. Mike Grgich, the winemaker, is a celebrity in Napa — he is the Croatian born winemaker of the 1973 Chateau Montelena, which won the Judgment of Paris (see the information on Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, above, for a description of the famed tasting) for white wines. His wines are awesome, intricate, challenging, and complex — just don’t drink them too young.
I have some time and I want extra credit:
Have a little time and want to get some extra credit? Here are a few wines that aren’t available in most stores but you can order directly from the winery. Trust me — it’s worth it.
- Hitching Post Pinot Noir: Santa Barbara, CA: $40.00 — If you’ve watched the movie Sideways, discussed above, then you’re already familiar with the Hitching Post restaurant. They also have wines, and they put out a great Pinot Noir — particularly the Highliner. You can actually buy Hitching Post in some wine shops, but it’s not all that common so that’s why I’m listing it here. Incidentally, if you ever find yourself in Buellton, California, the Hitching Post has amazing ribs. When we went there, just to eat where they filmed the movie, we were not expecting the wine and food to be as great as it was.
- Esterlina Pinot Noir: Anderson Valley, CA: $48.00 — Anyone who’s spent any amount of time drinking wine with me knows that this wine is one of my absolute favorites. I have probably had more bottles of this wine than any other one on the planet, and their reservation-only tasting room on the hills overlooking the Anderson Valley in Mendicino County, California is incredible. (If you’re in Sonoma County you can taste their wine at their sister wine, Everett Ridge Winery.) Bonus tip — it goes exceptionally well with Crunchy Cheetos. I’m not making this up.
- Bremer: Howell Mountain, Napa, CA: $70+ — I am a big big fan of Bremer’s Cabs and Clarets. This is one of my go-to wineries every time I’m in Napa. Bold, fruity, complex wines that never disappoint — though the longer they age, the better.
- Corison: Napa, CA: $125+ — If you’re going to spend the money on a Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa this is a great place to spend it. Cathy Corison is a legendary wine maker in Napa Valley. These wines, both complex and surprisingly acidic for cabs, aren’t cheap, but are commonly my go-to celebration bottles.
- Any Third or Fourth Growth (various prices) — If your host is into wine, they’ll likely know Bordeaux wines, arguably the capital of wine in the entire world. The top red wines from the left bank of Bordeaux, France, predominantly Cabernet Sauvignon based, were classified back in 1855 into five categories — First Growths, Second Growths, Third Growths, Fourth Growths, and Fifth Growth. While the First Growth (Haut-Brion, Lafite, Latour, Margaux, and Mouton) are completely unaffordable, and many of the Second Growths are likewise unaffordable, the Third and Fourth Growths are much less expensive. A quick Google search will give you the list. There are a number of Third and Fourth Growths, so the odds are good that your host has never tried what you bring. And trust me, as a host for parties, there’s nothing more exciting than getting some Third or Fourth Growth we have yet to try. Just make sure you get it from a decent vintage. Recent good (or great) vintages in Bordeaux are: 2009, 2010, and 2015 (when it becomes available). Avoid 2013 — it was a horrible vintage (or as the French would say, a “challenging” vintage). Down the road, I’ll do individual posts about the 1855 Classifications, the other Bordeaux classifications, and the importance of vintage in Bordeaux, to help provide more information on these various points.
If you enjoyed reading this, check out my wine blog: 10kbottles. Cheers!
