There’s something wonderful about having someone else choose a wine. Often, it’s a personal favorite, and it feels like a very personal gift since they are willing to share it. It also may be something I never saw or thought to pick up, so it’s a chance to get acquainted with another wonderful wine.

Of course, we all have a few bottles received as gifts that we wish never appeared, and we’ve all probably given a wine like that, too. How to make sure you’re not one of those people ever again? Asking a few questions before you get there is a good place to start.

Always ask before you go to someone’s house whether there is anything you can bring— wine, perchance? It might be that they’ve planned an elaborate dinner paired with wines, in which case you’re better off bringing flowers. A gift of a bottle of wine often makes people feel obligated to open it, and that might create some discomfort if the wine is already planned.

A host isn’t ever obligated to open the wine a guest brings, so if you have a special bottle you really want to taste, leave it at home. Don’t be offended if your hosts choose not to open the wine that evening. You’ve offered them a gift, and it’s not yours to dictate how they use it. Be prepared to hand it over graciously, and leave it there.

If, though, the answer is yes, try to find out what’s for dinner so you can choose a wine that might go well with it. For instance, if it’s steak, you’ll know you’ll be safe bringing a hearty red wine; if it’s fish, better stick to white wine. If it’s pasta, anything goes, but you might up your chances of choosing a compatible match in the Italian wine aisle rather than, say, Australia.

Try to gauge the style of the dinner party, too. If this is a backyard barbecue, an $8 bottle of red will go over much better than it might at a white-tablecloth sit-down dinner. If the host is going all-out for a nice dinner, do the same with the wine. Unless you know a wine to be better than its price would suggest, spend at least $15 on a bottle, more if it’s a wine from an expensive place like Bordeaux or Burgundy.

If you have no idea what sort of scene you are going to walk into, opt either for a pricey favorite that you’d be happy to drink, should they want to open it, or that you can be pretty sure they’ll be happy to have. Don’t ever assume that because your hosts don’t know much about wine, or, in your opinion, don’t have very good taste in wines, that this is an excuse to palm off plonk. If you give them a nice bottle, they just might start liking better wines.

Another good ploy for bringing wines to someone else’s party is to bring something sparkling to start the evening. That way, the wine won’t interfere with whatever they planned for dinner, and it won’t matter if there are nibbles to start or not—sparkling wine goes with just about everything. I’ve met only one person in my life who doesn’t like bubbly, and he’s very nice about it, since he knows that’s pretty unusual.

The other option is to bring something sweet. A lot of people don’t think about dessert wines, though most everyone enjoys them when they are poured. So this is often a place where there’s a space to fill, and the element of surprise come dessert time can make you look like a star.

In the end, whether host or guest, aim to please. You don’t have to spend a lot, but spend enough in thought and money that your guests or hosts know that you care.

It’s been said that wine is supposed to get better…

It may not be a surprise to some, but global warming is actually contributing to better tasting wine. Most winemakers and grape growers will admonish that the climate of a region is a key factor in how yummy a wine will come out. Believe it or not, the warmer climates are reported to create tastier vintages due the better harvested fruits. The temperatures increased an average of 5 degrees Fahrenheit over the past 50 years, which best affects the colder climate areas; the implications point to the fact that the warmer temperatures offer advantages for regions that are avid grape-growers.

However, places in Italy worry that their world-famous wines may not turn out so well with this increase. They fear that the grapes may wither before ripening form heat and sun has made Italy question how long their wine with withstand the global warming effect.

In the meantime, this just makes room for more places in the world to grow better tasting grapes to make the wines.

Global warming may turn out to be a wine lover’s best friend.

As we all know, wine clubs around the world boast the best wines in the industry. Today, the Economic Times released their VIP list of wine clubs, from the U.K. to New York to California. This VIP list of wine clubs consists of nine worldly establishments that offer their basic to extravagant bottles for average wine tasters in the heart of some of the world’s largest cities. Some allow everyone to come in and enjoy the inspiring tastes and others are extremely exclusive.

Here are the nine places that made the list:

Mystere Wine Club-Cardiff, Wales

Hells Angels Motorcycle Club World-U.S.

Velvet Cigar Lounge-NYC

The Bin Club-London

Buena Vista Cigar Club-Beverly Hills, CA

Yellowstone Club-Montana

California Wine Club

Blue Note-New York

The Beefsteak Club-London

When coupling wines and chocolates, pairing up one of the lighter, milkier chocolates with a lighter flavored wine, or one of the darker, heavier chocolates with the fuller flavored wine is usually the recommended combination for that scrumptious and savory experience. If a wine has a particular nutty or cherry essence to it, it can either be matched or contrasted with the flavor notes of the chocolate.

Although quite strong for some people, Bourbon and chocolate are a popular combination of the two distinct tastes. Others love the fruitiness of the Zinfandel or Cabernet intertwined with the smoothness of chocolate. At a particular Lindt event, the Chadonnay with its fruity tones was coupled with white chocolate truffles. Just the way that combination sounds is mouthwatering, isn’t it?

Some people may enjoy the rich taste of the fuller flavored wines accented by a light and milky chocolate. Others may want the opposite effect. There is such an expansive range of combinations that can be concocted by people that love both wine and chocolate, just one favorite mixture is never enough. Trying new blends could inspire a whole new exhilarating experience for the taste buds.

When it boils down to it, though, creating the perfect wine and chocolate “couple” is up to the individual and what savory outcome they desire at the moment. With the assortment of choices available, everyone is sure to find their favorite chocolate even more attractive to the senses when added to a glass of their preferred wine.

With summer quickly coming to a somewhat regretful close, if you have not experienced the smooth and refreshing delicacy of a frozen Sangria Slushy, you still have time to squeeze it in before the Fall moves in. Whether you are relaxing by the pool, sitting in your gazebo enjoying a quiet summer evening or hosting a “Goodbye Summertime” party, this drink is sure to create that sigh of contentment we all desire at the end of the day.

Follow this quick recipe to fulfill this tasty summertime treat for wine lovers:

Sangria Slushy

1.5 c. chopped fresh pineapple
1 c. orange sections
3 tbsp. frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 1/4 c. Burgundy or other dry red wine, chilled
1/2 c. club soda
3 fresh pineapple spears

On a 9×9 baking sheet, arrange a single layer of the chopped pineapple and orange sections. Freeze the fruits in the pan until they are firm. Place the frozen fruit mixture into a blender or food processor and chop until the fruit is chunky. Add the concentrate and 1 cup of the wine and blend until the mixture is smooth. Pour the concoction into a 1 qt. pitcher; add remaining wine and the club soda. Stir. Pour sangria into individual glasses and add a pineapple spear for garnish. Makes 1 qt.

Invite your neighbors or friends over for an evening gathering and enjoy conversation and Sangria Slushies while you remind each other of the fun times you spent together and make plans for the Fall festivities that are right around the corner.

How much wine you need for a party depends entirely on what sort of party it is, and whom you’re inviting. If there are two pregnant women at the table, you can scale the amounts down; same goes for marathon runners with a race the next day. Use common sense to decide how enthusiastic your guests will get over the wine.

The kind of event also helps determine how much. If it’s a casual dinner, with just one main event (a pizza party, or a simple roast chicken dinner), you can figure two to three 4- to 6-ounce glasses per person. If there are up to three courses with different wines, the same applies, only you’ll need fewer bottles of each wine.

Unabashed wine geeks like myself who love to put people through extensive multicourse meals matched with wines often put out a large container of some sort (a wine cooler or a pitcher, for instance) into which people can dump their glasses, so that they don’t feel compelled to finish each glass to get on to the next wine. The thing about wine appreciation, you see, is that you have to be sober to do it.

If you’re going all-out, though, for a 12-course wine-matched meal, you’ll need far less of everything, unless you want your guests to be under the table by dessert. Plan on just 2 to 3 ounces of each wine; it sounds like a little, but it will feel like plenty by course four.

Etiquette

Whatever you do, make your guests feel comfortable. Always offer water, whether they ask for it or not, and have some nonalcoholic options on hand. If someone doesn’t want to drink, don’t make a big deal about it. Offer them something else, and give it to them in a wine glass, so they don’t have to stand around feeling like the odd man out. I do this with children, too: It makes everyone part of the party.

Whenever there are more bottles of wine than there are people, have a receptacle into which they can dump their leftovers—or even spit, if they prefer. It’s not gross; it’s respectable. It’s much better than them getting sick on your carpet, right?

Since you’ve volunteered for the care, feeding, and wining of your guests this evening, make sure they can get home safely, too. If they have to drive, don’t let them get drunk unless you’re ready to have them stay over. Saying no can be really tough, but it’s better than risking the chance of a much worse outcome. Besides, who wants to hang around with a drunk?

The wonderful aspect of having a fine dinner matched with wines at home is that you have ultimate control. You’re not limited by a set menu, nor by an overpriced or underwhelming wine list. You don’t have to consider the needs of three other people who ordered very different dishes, nor that your appetite for different tastes might break the bank. You’re in control: The menu and wine selection are in your hands.

The challenge, of course, is that you’re cook, sommelier, and host all wrapped in one, so you’d better plan ahead.

Wine First?

Sometimes, the inspiration for a dinner party is to share a special wine. Designing a dinner around wine is often easier than deciding on food first and then wine.

If you want to focus on a single wine, put it in the starring role, with the entree, even if it’s a white wine. Build out from there, adding lighter wines to begin. If a meal isn’t a meal without a red wine, add it at the end, with cheese or dessert. Some people think it’s fine to go from red wine to white wine, but it doesn’t work for me.

If you have an array of great wines to share, order them by weight and match the courses to their weight. That way, you won’t lose people as they fill up on richer dishes first, and every wine and dish will get its chance to shine without being overwhelmed by the previous course.

Food First?

The whole world is open to you if you’re starting from food, so make it easier on yourself and focus. Get inspired by the season, and design a menu around what’s in the farmer’s market, or choose a cuisine—from American to Zimbabwean—it doesn’t have to be that of a wine-producing country.

Decide how many courses you want, and arrange them by richness; for example, start with a light salad, move on to a fish course, and end with beef. Then pick the wines, keeping the basics in mind. Not every dish has to have its own wine, of course; some can share, or go without. Which leads us to the question, how much is enough?

The more casual the party, the more you’ll enjoy it, and the more likely you are to have another, and that’s a good thing. So let’s say you’d like to have some friends over to enjoy some wine with you, but there’s no time to prepare a five-course meal. No problem.

Get some pies from the local pizzeria, or order takeout Chinese or Thai. Make the food the theme of the wine tasting. With pizza, buy an array of simple Chianti wines; with Chinese, make it Riesling. Put all the wines out in numbered paper bags, so no one can see the labels, and have people vote on their favorite. That way, you’ll not only eat and drink well, but you’ll casually have done some good wine study, too.

A food-and-wine party doesn’t need to be fancy. It can be as simple as some wine and some cheese, or dry sausages and bread. Give it extra interest by creating a theme— buy an array of American farmhouse cheeses, for example, and a selection of American wines to match. Or make it Spanish wine and Spanish cheese, or Italian cold cuts and red wines. Not only will it narrow the choices, making it easier to make your selections, but pairing wine with the foods that it grew up around greatly ups the chances that the two will go together well.

Maybe it sounds cheap, but it also sounds like a lot of fun. Pick a theme, any theme, and a price range, like $1 to $10, and ask everyone to bring a bottle. The theme could be the starring dish: say, a deep pan of lasagna. Or it could be a variety, like Merlot. Or it could be the movie you’re going to watch that night—anything from sultry wines with which to match a showing of Casablanca to wines that would pair well with buttered popcorn. (I mean it—there are some Chardonnays that go well with buttered popcorn.)

In order to keep competition down, you might want to paper-bag these wines, too. I know of some people who do this regularly, and award prizes (silly stuff, always) to the person who brings the most popular bottle. There’s always one bottle that goes faster than the others.

This is also a terrific way to learn about lots of wines at once: With 10 different Merlots, there are bound to be some clunkers. The few that are great you can add to your shopping list; the rest you never have to wonder about again.

I’ve served good wine out of coffee cups, so don’t look to me for any lectures about how each wine deserves the perfect glass. Whatever you have on hand will do in a pinch. The only place I put my foot down is with Styrofoam cups: not only are they terrible for the environment, but their chemical smell and funny texture ruin what-ever’s put in them.

Beyond that, it’s a matter of getting as close to the ideal as you can, and having enough of them to go around. The ideal is a thin-lipped glass with pear-shaped bowl (to make it easier to swirl without spilling, and to capture aroma) and a stem (so that you don’t get fingerprints all over the bowl or warm the wine, if it’s been chilled). To get the most out of the wine, get at least a 10-ounce glass; that will leave enough room to swirl a few ounces of wine.

If you frequently drink sparkling wine, invest in some flutes. These tall, thin glasses are designed to channel the bubbles through the wine in a thin, steady stream—which is both beautiful and allows the bubbles to last longer.

White wine glass, red wine glass? Forget it. Traditionally, white wine is served in a smaller glass than red, but that tradition harks back to the advent of glassware, when the number of glasses on the table indicated status. White wine deserves as big a glass as red; the bigger the bowl, the bigger the swirl, and the more scent you can get out of it.

If you can spring for glasses, do so: Nothing beats glass in feel and neutrality of scent and taste. Buy more than you think you can possibly use. That way, when one breaks—which it will—you’ll have another just like it to replace it and not have to worry about that style being discontinued.

With wine and glasses in stock, you’re ready for anything.

A great place to look for glasses is restaurant supply houses. Every city has one; check the yellow pages or ask a local independent restaurant where they bought glassware. Supply houses will sell in bulk, which saves lots of money, and the glasses come in cardboard boxes, making them easy to store.

Here’s your chance to show off, or at least put your knowledge to the test. Invite some friends over, put on a wine-tasting party, or have a dinner with courses paired to the wines.

That might sound high-falutin’, but really, who doesn’t like good food and good wine? And why not take a little extra time to show off what you’ve slaved over in the kitchen to best effect? Or what you’ve ordered in from the Chinese takeout place uptown …

Inviting friends over for some grub and vino doesn’t have to be a big deal. God knows I’ve had plenty of spontaneous dinner parties which, caught off-guard, consisted of a bunch of cheese and wine drunk out of coffee cups, for that’s all I had. A little tacky, maybe, and not the best way to show off the wine, but fun—and that’s what counts most.

Still, you can prepare a little better than I did on those occasions. It takes just a few accoutrements—and every once in a while, it’s nice to do it up right. Invite some friends over, but plan what’s going to happen first.

Stocking the Pantry

My mom always had enough quick food in the house to be able to whip up dinner for 250 in the unlikely event that it would be needed without warning. I haven’t gotten that good, yet, but she did teach me the value of summer sausages, cheese, and crackers. And I’ve added my own list of wines.

With a little stash of good, everyday wines and the most basic of foods, there’s a party ready to happen whenever the chance occurs—even if it’s 11 P.M. after a movie and everyone’s a little hungry.

My basic batterie du vin tends to consist of …

• Two bottles cheap sparkling wine (Cava and Prosecco, mostly, simply because I’ve found nothing as consistently good for the $10 price).
• Two bottles light, crisp white wine (Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, white Bordeaux, Vinho Verde, Santorini, and the like).
• Two bottles juicy, ready-to-go red (Zinfandel, Shiraz, Valpolicella, southern Italian or French blends).
• One bottle sweet white wine (an affordable late-harvest something, or a Moscato d’Asti).
• One bottle sweet red wine (an LVB Port or Port-style Zinfandel, or a Maury when I’m feeling flush).

This way, no matter what the situation, there’s always something to pull out for guests. Somebody got some good news? A toast is in order, and the bubbly’s already in the fridge. It’s been a rough day? Bubbly can fix just about anything. Guests stopped in at dinner time? Have a glass of white while we fix another plate. One of these other whites or reds will do fine with the main. Out with friends at a show and there’s no place to go afterward? Invite them back for cheese or dessert: You’ve got some lovely sweet wines that have been waiting for an excuse to be opened.

No room in the fridge for all these tall bottles of wine? No problem. To chill a bottle quickly, put it into a container (or a plugged sink) filled partly with ice; fill it the rest of the way with cold water. This will chill the bottle far faster than straight ice or the freezer.

Spur-of-the-moment entertaining like a pro is as simple as having a few bottles tucked away—and something to pour them into, perhaps.