Tips for Pairing Wine for Holiday Parties

Hattiesburg, MS

The holiday season is here which means your schedule probably is filling up with parties. Whether you are headed to an office party, a fancy dinner affair or a simple get-together with family and friends, you want to make sure the proper beverages keep flowing all night. One key component of being a great host is to serve appropriate wine pairings in combination with your appetizers. Your local Hattiesburg package store is here to help, offering up these wine-pairing suggestions, which will be perfect for all your holiday parties this season.

Start light: Serving a heavier wine at the start of the night actually can impede the ability of your palate to identify subtle notes in any lighter wines that are served later. We suggest providing a white wine as the first offering at any social function.

Back off on bitter: One good general rule of thumb to follow is that the wine you drink always should be sweeter than the food being served. Failing to follow this rule can make the wine taste too bitter. Luckily, there is a wine available for almost any pairing; for examples, desserts match quite well with port wine.

Find similar traits: Is the food you are eating rich and heavy? If so, you can match it with a full-bodied wine. Likewise, if food is acidic, it can match up nicely with an acidic wine, while strong wines pair well with spicy foods.

Pop the cork: Champagne is not just for weddings or New Year’s Eve. It can be a great addition to any social gathering. Most varieties of champagne are light and acidic, making them good matches for the types of salty snacks that are present at most parties. The bubbles in champagne also help cleanse the palate, allowing it to pair well with a variety of different appetizers.

Be creative: Remember these tips are just guidelines and not ironclad rules. While there can be nothing better than the perfect wine pairing, there are no firm boundaries when it comes to the world of wine. That said if you are hosting a large group of people, it is probably best to choose a conventional pairing that will be more agreeable to a different variety of palates. Smaller gatherings for a few close family and friends—especially if they are fellow wine enthusiasts—can be a great time to make a bold choice or just go with one of your favorites.

Wine in Hattiesburg

At Lincoln Road Package Store, we are proud to stock a wide variety of wines whether you are looking for something well known or a bit off the beaten path. Whether you need reds, whites, something sparkling or even fortified wines, we can meet your needs. If you have a question, contact us by calling (601) 268-3677 or send an email to jamiefarris@gmail.com. Or, visit our location at 2800 Lincoln Road, Suite A, in Hattiesburg, MS. A member of our knowledgeable and courteous staff will be glad to assist you.

Lincoln Road Package Store is proud to serve the adult beverage needs of Hattiesburg, MS.