After a dismal 2020 Christmas, people are gearing up to celebrate this season. We have every right to do so. But before you go your merry way, don’t you think that you should know what wine to serve during the party?

Whether it is a formal dinner or a casual get-together, you should know which wine to serve. You might argue that you can stick to the age-old principle of pairing white wine with fish, pasta and chicken and choosing red for steaks and red meat. But why not expand your knowledge? It may come in handy when you buy wine online. Here are a few things that you should know about them:

Characteristics

It is a matter of taste. Thus, your wine preference is subjective. But there are specific standards that you need to adhere to.

Let us say that you are looking for gifts for wine lovers. In this scenario, you should not choose one type of wine for all of your friends. At the very least, you should know what they like. Do they enjoy sweet wine? Or does a particular friend like something with more body?

With the case of your mate who likes sweet wine, you may choose Riesling wine. As a rule, dry wine is not sweet. As for your friend who likes wine with more body, she may enjoy a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon. The body refers to how heavy or light it feels in your mouth when it comes to wine.

You may have heard other wine characteristics, such as acidity, tannin and alcohol. As the name suggests, acidic wines are more tart than low-acidity wines. Tannins are in grape skin. It is what makes wine bitter.

Lastly, let us talk about alcohol. You can tell if a bottle of wine has high alcohol content if it warms your throat or the back of your mouth. Most wines have an alcohol content of 11 to 13%. But it can range from 5 to 20%.

Wine Pairing

Wine pairing can be a tad tricky. We often make the mistake of combining acidic food such as citrusy meals with low-acidic wines. The citrus content of the dish will overpower the wine. In this case, we should match the meal with wine that has higher acidity.

If you are looking for gifts for wine lovers, you will not go wrong with giving them cheese and wine. Let us go back to your friend who likes sweet wine. You can give him a Gorgonzola cheese plate with a bottle of dessert wine.

To cut off the richness of a dish, you can serve a wine that has more tannins. We probably pair steak with red wine because red wine has more tannins than its white counterpart. Or, if you are indulging in cheesecake, you can pair it off with high-acidity wine.

Conclusion

Serving a good bottle of wine during dinner will cement your reputation as an excellent host. In this season of parties, you should not cut back on what you serve. After all, given how shocking 2020 was, we have some making up to do.