Portioning out Plonk and not so Plonk

[DameEdna]

I have a budget for a Summer party ... someone else's money. I know what to get for one person, she prefers Cooke's "champagne" above anything else. For the rest, should I just get as many bottles of Bella Sera 1.5Ls as possible. or would some better bottles and some not so good bottles be better? Is it fair to hide some good wine until thirsts are somewhat slaked? What would Miss Manners do? What would Martha Stewart do? Or for that matter, what would Donald Trump do? Please help.

[DonRocks]

I have a budget for a Summer party ... someone else's money. I know what to get for one person, she prefers Cooke's "champagne" above anything else. For the rest, should I just get as many bottles of Bella Sera 1.5Ls as possible. or would some better bottles and some not so good bottles be better? Is it fair to hide some good wine until thirsts are somewhat slaked? What would Miss Manners do? What would Martha Stewart do? Or for that matter, what would Donald Trump do? Please help.

I know of no thoughtful host who wouldn't have a decent bottle hidden in the bathroom closet.

[Pete]

Is it fair to hide some good wine until thirsts are somewhat slaked?

Quite the opposite! Put out the good stuff first and then the plonk. Once people are good and toasty they won't taste the difference between Opus One and Black Opal.

[Heather]

I routinely open bottles in the kitchen that don't make it out into the living room.

Then there's the "Oops, looks the end of that bottle! How about a glass of this?" move.

[Waitman]

I am absolutely and diametrically opposed to the "good stuff first, swill later" strategy. First, people drink twice as fast early on, let them throw back the cheap stuff. Second, whileI can usually -- ok, always -- choke down whatever I'm handed if my palate has nothing recent to compare it to, if I've spent a couple hours sipping swell stuff, my first instinct after that first swallow of the late-evening piquette is spit it on the carpet and yell "Holy shit, the cat pissed in my glass!"

It's a cruel trick to play on someone, in my experience.

Buying one excellent bottle, waiting until very late in the evening and seeing if you approve of who's left, and then breaking it out is another tried and true method. If the funder is still there, say: "I picked this especially for you," as you pour yourself (and them) a great bloody snootful.

[deangold]

"Holy shit, the cat pissed in my glass!"

No that's jsut really bad NZ sauvignon blanc!

I would keep the good stuff hiddena and portion it out. But instead of plonk, how about making a sangria which can make plonk taste good?

[bilrus]

Is it fair to hide some good wine until thirsts are somewhat slaked? What would Miss Manners do? What would Martha Stewart do? Or for that matter, what would Donald Trump do? Please help.

More to the point, What Would Jesus Do? Doesn't this sound a lot like the story of the wedding at Cana?

I'd get a middle of the road wine and serve it all the way through.

Jesus would just turn some water into some $100 a bottle stuff and not worry about the cost.

[yeuxblu]

Usually I get an experimental mix of wines. I give the staff at a wine shop my price range, how many bottles I want and ask for a mix of whites, reds & summer roses (depending on the party/season). The process of putting together a mixed case with the staff is fun. Plus it gives your guest the ability to chose their poison. As a side note, a lot of people still haven't gotten past a pink wine must be a white zinfadel philosophy so you may want to go light on rose.

If you do end up with some higher end bottles that you want to try, I would definitely open them at the beginning. Partly for taste and partly to just be able to drink some before everyone else devours the wine. That first glass is so nice when you you are setting up for a party. Have fun.

[Joe Riley]

For what it's worth, here's my favorite story about serving guests different wine than the host is enjoying:

It's become rather well-known here in D.C. that President Nixon, despite being from California, preferred to serve Bordeaux at the White House. He enjoyed the first-growths, and at certain dinners, he would have a waiter pour him Bordeaux with a towel covering the bottle so that no one else would see what he was having served to him. What the other guests got, I don't know for certain, but they weren't getting his first-growth Bordeaux. If that isn't an indictment of Nixon's character, then I don't know WHAT is

Of course, back then, the quality and range of top California red wines wasn't nearly what it is today, and they certainly didn't enjoy a good reputation among connoisseurs. That would have to wait for the famous 1976 tasting in Paris, where the '74 California Cabernet Sauvignons bested the '74 first-growth Bordeaux in a blind tasting (which wasn't really fair, since '74 was a watershed vintage in California, but Bordeaux was average) From that tasting emerged Stag's Leap Wine Cellar's owner Warren Winarski's famous quote that his Cabernet was "an iron fist in a velvet glove".

Sorry to digress, but it's such a cute story, I couldn't resist.

[zoramargolis]

It's become rather well-known here in D.C. that President Nixon, despite being from California, preferred to serve Bordeaux at the White House. He enjoyed the first-growths, and at certain dinners, he would have a waiter pour him Bordeaux with a towel covering the bottle so that no one else would see what he was having served to him. What the other guests got, I don't know for certain, but they weren't getting his first-growth Bordeaux. If that isn't an indictment of Nixon's character, then I don't know WHAT is

I think it was Chateau Margaux that Nixon always drank, if the story is accurate.

[The Hersch]

Since Nixon wouldn't have been paying for the wine himself, did he keep it to himself out of his typical mean-spiritedness, or was there some sense in which allowing others to have it would have deprived him of it?

[DonRocks]

[The story itself is fine, but please don't issue any political opinions here. Thanks! Rocks]

[tabindc]

That would have to wait for the famous 1976 tasting in Paris, where the '74 California Cabernet Sauvignons bested the '74 first-growth Bordeaux in a blind tasting (which wasn't really fair, since '74 was a watershed vintage in California, but Bordeaux was average) From that tasting emerged Stag's Leap Wine Cellar's owner Warren Winarski's famous quote that his Cabernet was "an iron fist in a velvet glove".

A slight point of correction. The wines at the historic '76 tastings were '73 vintages.

And my understanding of the White House is that the pres pays for his/her personal consumption but the fed picks up the tab for state dinners.

[deangold]

A slight point of correction. The wines at the historic '76 tastings were '73 vintages.

And my understanding of the White House is that the pres pays for his/her personal consumption but the fed picks up the tab for state dinners.

Actually the winning cab was a 73, but there were wines from several 70's vintages. I believe the Ridge MB was a 70 or 71 and there was a Mayacamas of similar age.

[tabindc]

Actually the winning cab was a 73, but there were wines from several 70's vintages. I believe the Ridge MB was a 70 or 71 and there was a Mayacamas of similar age.

Yes, I meant to say the winners, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars Cabernet and Chateau Montelena Chardonnay were '73s.

Here are the other wines that were tasted:

Chardonnay/White Burgundy: '74 Chalone, '73 David Bruce, '72 Freemark Abbey, '73 Spring Mt. Vineyard, '72 Veedercrest Vineyards, '73 Ramonet-Prudhon Batard-Montrachet, '73 Joseph Drouhin Beaune Clos de Mouches, '73 Roulot Mursault Charmes, '72 Domaine Leflaive Puligny-Montrachet Les Pucelles

Cabernet: '72 Clos Du Val, '69 Freemark Abbey, '70 Heitz Cellars Martha's Vineyard, '71 Mayacamas, '71 Ridge Monte Bello, '70 Chateau Haut-Brion, '71 Chateau Leoville-Las-Cases, '70 Chateau Montrose, and '70 Chateau Mouton Rothschild.

There is a film project in the works about the tasting. http://www.decanter.com/news/86251.html

Is Hugh Grant the only british actor out there?

[flygirl]

how about inviting a few people over half an hour early to enjoy the good bottle? pour everyone a glass, relax, then wait for the others to show up.

[jwhite]

I have a budget for a Summer party ... someone else's money. I know what to get for one person, she prefers Cooke's "champagne" above anything else. For the rest, should I just get as many bottles of Bella Sera 1.5Ls as possible. or would some better bottles and some not so good bottles be better? Is it fair to hide some good wine until thirsts are somewhat slaked? What would Miss Manners do? What would Martha Stewart do? Or for that matter, what would Donald Trump do? Please help.

If it is not your party you should do what the host wishes.

Were it my party, assuming an average group with 6-10 wine lovers and 60+ who just want a glass of something, I would go with mostly bottles of acceptable wine but keep a couple of special selections for those whom I felt would appreciate the wines. I would feel neither ashamed nor offensive in doing so and would have no problem steering a wine lover from the marginal to the special even in front of others. It would of course be best done using a comment such as "Here Joe, I thought of you when I last tasted this wine."