Best Wines for a Dinner Party

A Wine Professional’s Guide to Choosing Bottles for the Table

One of the questions I’m asked all the time is some version of: What wine should I serve for a dinner party?

My answer is rarely just one bottle.

Wine at the dinner table isn’t only about perfect pairings. It’s about the people coming, what you’re eating, the season, how long you’ll be lingering, and the feeling you want to create.

I’ve spent more than 15 years working in wine and hospitality, and some of my favorite wine experiences have had absolutely nothing to do with rare bottles or elaborate pairings. They’ve happened around crowded tables, with food being passed, several bottles open at once, and people discovering something they didn’t expect to love.

That is how I like to think about choosing wine for a dinner party.

Not perfection.

Possibility.

Start With the People, Not the Menu

Before I think about food pairings, I think about my guests.

Are they serious wine collectors? Casual wine drinkers? Adventurous? Do they mostly drink Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay? Is there someone at the table who thinks they “don’t like white wine”?

A dinner party is usually not the moment to prove how much you know about wine.

It’s an opportunity to make people feel welcome.

I like to have enough variety that everyone can find something they love—and perhaps discover something new along the way.

For most dinners, that means I want a bright, beautiful wine to begin and at least one versatile red for the table.

For a longer dinner, I'll happily open three or four different wines and let the evening unfold.

Begin With Something Bright

There is something wonderful about handing someone a glass of wine when they first walk through the door.

Before dinner, I gravitate toward wines with freshness and acidity: Sparkling Chenin Blanc, Chenin Blanc, dry rosé or a vibrant Chardonnay can all be beautiful choices.

They wake up the palate rather than overwhelm it.

Sparkling wine is especially useful because people associate bubbles with celebration. You don't need an occasion worthy of Champagne to open sparkling wine. Sometimes opening the bottle creates the occasion.

Chenin Blanc is another favorite in our house. It can have wonderful acidity, texture and complexity while remaining incredibly food-friendly.

And yes, you can absolutely serve rosé beyond summer.

A dry, intentional rosé can move beautifully from appetizers to the dinner table, particularly alongside vegetables, seafood, salads, fresh cheeses and lighter meats.

For Dinner, Look for Versatility

If you're serving several dishes family-style, I would rather have a wine that plays nicely with the entire table than one that technically pairs perfectly with a single ingredient.

This is where varieties like Pinot Noir, Grenache, Carignan, Sangiovese and Syrah become incredibly useful.

Pinot Noir can be gorgeous with mushrooms, salmon, poultry, pork and earthy vegetable dishes.

Grenache brings beautiful fruit and spice and can work across roasted vegetables, grilled meats and Mediterranean flavors.

Carignan is one of my favorite dinner-table wines because its freshness and savory character make it remarkably adaptable.

Sangiovese naturally loves food. Tomatoes, herbs, pasta, grilled vegetables, roasted meats—there is a reason this grape has lived alongside the Italian table for generations.

And Syrah can be magnificent when the meal becomes richer: grilled meats, mushrooms, lamb, slow-cooked dishes, pepper, herbs and smoke.

You don't need to memorize any of this.

The broader principle is much simpler:

Match the weight and energy of the wine to the weight and energy of the meal.

Don't Be Afraid to Open More Than One Bottle

This may be my favorite dinner-party wine advice.

Put a few wines on the table.

Let people taste.

Someone will inevitably say, “Wait, try this with that.”

Suddenly everyone is participating.

Wine becomes a conversation rather than a performance.

You may discover that half the table prefers the white with dinner. Wonderful. Someone might adore the lighter red while another wants the Syrah.

Also wonderful.

There is no prize for finishing one bottle before opening another.

How Much Wine Do You Need for a Dinner Party?

A standard 750ml bottle contains approximately five 5-ounce glasses of wine.

For a dinner lasting several hours, I generally plan approximately half to one bottle per drinking guest, depending on the length of the gathering, how much food is being served and whether other beverages are available.

For six wine-drinking guests, for example, I might have four bottles available:

One sparkling or white to welcome everyone, another white or rosé, and two reds for the table.

You don't necessarily need to finish them all. I'd simply rather have another bottle waiting than discover halfway through dinner that we underestimated.

And always have beautiful non-alcoholic options and plenty of water available too.

Temperature Matters More Than People Think

One of the easiest ways to make wine taste better is to serve it at the right temperature.

White and sparkling wines should generally be chilled, but an expressive white can become muted when it is absolutely ice-cold. If a white has been sitting in a very cold refrigerator, give it a little time in the glass.

And red wine does not need to be warm.

“Room temperature” comes from a time when rooms were considerably cooler than many of our modern homes. A lighter red can be wonderful with a slight chill, particularly during warmer months.

If your red has been sitting in a 75-degree kitchen, put it in the refrigerator for 15 or 20 minutes before serving.

Tiny detail. Huge difference.

The Best Dinner-Party Wine Isn't Necessarily the Most Expensive

Please don't feel like you need to pull out your most prestigious bottle simply because people are coming over.

A great dinner-party wine should invite another sip.

It should complement food rather than demand everyone's attention.

And ideally, it has a story you actually want to tell.

Maybe it's from a vineyard you've visited. Maybe you know the farmer. Maybe it's an unfamiliar grape. Maybe you brought it home from a trip. Maybe the winemaker is a friend.

Those stories become part of the evening.

At Prinsley, this is a big part of why Rea and I make the wines we make. We work in small lots with distinctive vineyards throughout Napa Valley, Sonoma County and Mendocino County, making varieties we genuinely love—from Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir to Carignan, Grenache, Sangiovese and Syrah.

Each gives us something different to bring to the table.

Literally.

My Simplest Dinner-Party Wine Formula

If you want to make this incredibly easy, here's what I would do:

For a casual dinner, choose one bright white or rosé + one versatile red.

For a larger or longer dinner, add sparkling wine at the beginning + a second red with a different personality.

That's it.

You have contrast. You have something for different palates. You can move through the evening without turning dinner into a formal wine-pairing exercise.

And Then Stop Worrying About the Wine

This might be the most important part.

Open the bottles.

Put food on the table.

Light the candles.

Turn on some music.

Sit down.

A beautiful bottle of wine can absolutely elevate a meal, but the point isn't the bottle. The point is what happens around it.

The conversations that stretch longer than expected. Someone reaching across the table for another helping. A friend discovering that they actually love Carignan. The bottle you opened “just to try” somehow becoming everyone's favorite.

Wine has been part of the table for thousands of years because it belongs there—with food, with people, with stories, with celebration.

Choose wines with life in them. Serve food you love. Invite people you care about.

The rest tends to take care of itself.

I encourage you to shop our wines and pick out a selection! SHOP>

— Kim Ilsley Prince
Co-Founder, Prinsley Wines