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CHRIS SHERMANIs the prospect of buying and serving wine and other party refreshments intimidating? Read on.
Before bifocals, gray hair and red sports cars, maturity intrudes on party-giving.
"We'll get a keg" you say, and on Monday you take it back with the sad realization that you and your friends can no longer empty one, let alone the two or three of your youth.
Don't be so glum. The fun is hardly over. Party-giving as an adult has one big bonus. Grown-up liquid refreshment comes in smaller containers that will keep to party again another day, week or month.
Still, buying and serving wine for a grown-up party seems intimidating.
* How much to buy? The math needn't be complicated. A serving of wine is approximately 5 ounces (less for sparklers). Many people will drink one glass in 30 to 45 minutes. Given varying thirsts, that averages to about three glasses during a two-hour party.
Rochelle Smith of A Taste for Wine in downtown St. Petersburg does the math in her head. Twenty people times three glasses, that's 60 servings. At five servings per bottle, that's 12 bottles or a case.
Bottom line, figure at least one bottle for every two guests, and round up to the next case. You'll get a better price, it keeps and, hey, it's a party.
* Red or white? Depends. The old idea was 50-50, possibly with a few bottles of blush or sparkling. Wine shop owners report a slow but steady shift to reds among all wine drinkers. If the party is later, the weather cooler, and the meals meatier, up the red proportionally.
* Which wine? Wine you like in whatever price range is appropriate. It's that simple. Even if you're pouring to impress, it's more impressive if you can honestly say you like it. Kendall-Jackson merlot, Mondavi chardonnay and 1.5-liter jugs are not the only crowd pleasers and affordable choices. Plenty of wines with character sell for $6 to $10, and when you're buying by the case, you'll often get a discount of 10 to 15 percent. So a good wine shop is often a better place to shop than a supermarket unless you're expecting crowds of 100 or more.
If you have a distinct menu or theme (as much a sign of a grown-up party as individual invitations), let your wine follow. If you're serving roast pork, black beans and rice and the Buena Vista Social Club is on the sound system, a choice of young red from Rioja or crisp white albarino will be fine.
Unless it's a sit-down affair or especially wine-oriented occasion, avoid heavy cabernets and expensive chardonnays.
More interesting, affordable choices for whites: riesling, viognier, pinot blanc and grigio, chenin blanc and sauvignon blanc. For reds look for syrah, zinfandel, grenache and Rhone and Provence blends. Explore Australia, South America, South Africa, Spain, Italy and California's Central Coast.
* How much beer and booze? Again, you know your guests, their beer/wine druthers, and the hours of your event. In the post-keg years, most beer drinkers are also drinking less, but better. Figure three beers apiece and buy quality not quantity. Offer a variety, from lagers and pale ales to stout, porter and holiday brews, home-grown microbrews and imports, or pick a theme. At parties, beer should be a treat, too.
Liquor is a tougher question. Setting up a full "we've got anything you want" bar seems unnecessary and a little risky. Better to limit the choices or serve a specialty drink such as your favorite daiquiri, pina colada, rum punch, margarita or eggnog, and put the emphasis on the mixer. Fresh fruit and good juices are more important than double shots of call-brand liquor.
* What else? Don't make abstainers suffer. Not everyone drinks. Stock your bar heavily with water, plain and sparkling, lots of juice (Latin and Asian stores offer wild choices in tropical fruits) and a rainbow of soda pop, from root beer to cream soda, as well as the usual suspects.
* Do you need all those glasses? No. Fine glass blowers have created an immense spectrum of glasses to capture the special flavors of different wines. High-end European glassmakers such as Riedel and Spiegelau have separate glass designs for cabernet, pinot, shiraz and Chianti. They often make two styles for chardonnay, a thinner white wine glass for most chards, and a big balloon for the oldest and richest. Even connoisseurs would rarely stock their home with dozens of each; they'd more likely invest in glasses to hold their favorite, say, Burgundy.
Most wine-loving hosts and homes get by happily with two kinds of glasses, one for reds and one for whites. And bubbly fans will want flutes on hand.
* Can we have one wine glass for everyone? Sure. Go for a red wine glass. White wines will lose less aroma in a red glass than reds will in a white glass. Pick a medium-size red glass, not one with a massive bowl.
* How many glasses? Lots. It depends on how you entertain, but the more the merrier, so look for deals. You may want glasses for sit-down dinners or everyday, say six or eight reds and whites, but for any large party you'll need dozens. The quickest solution is to rent, often at 50 cents to $1 a stem, from a party supply store. They'll be sturdy and you won't have to wash them.
Long term it's best to buy, at after-holiday white sales, restaurant supply houses, thrift stores or yard sales (for less than one-time rentals). For dinner and formal parties, you'll want matched sets, but in a pinch or a crowd you'll be happy for spares of any kind. Look for thin bowls, simple sturdy construction with stems that are easy to handle. Store in the boxes you brought the wine home in.
* What color? There are three preferred colors on wine glasses: Clear, clear and clear. Not being finicky here, but wine comes in a lovely spectrum already. Nature and the cellar already make grassy greens, old golds, inky purples, ruby reds and mahogany browns that are as enjoyable as any color in the glass factory. Old-fashioned German wine glasses did have brown stems for Rhine wines and green for Mosel wines to accent their natural tints, but they are out of fashion.
Color can be fun if you assemble odd lots of novelty glasses for cordials or for sparkling wine. Both drinks are festive and served informally before or after a meal when people are standing up. No one will object to solid colors on cordial glasses, but have some clear ones, too, to show off electric blues and chartreuse. For stand-up bubbly, keep the color on the stems so it doesn't obscure the bubbles.
* How to wash glasses? It's not as easy as picking up plastic cups all over the house and yard and stuffing them in a garbage bag, but it's not that hard. The first three rules, are rinse, rinse and rinse. Nothing ruins beer or wine more than soap scum.
Although restaurants and public facilities do use soap, at home you should try washing with hot water alone and then letting them air dry.
There's also a fourth rule: Don't mess with the glasses until tomorrow morning if it's good glass - or a good party.
- Chris Sherman, who writes about food and wine for the St. Petersburg Times, is the author of "The Buzz on Wine" Lebhar-Friedman Books, $16.95. He can be reached at (727) 893-8585 or sherman@sptimes.com