Tips for Hosting a Dinner Party
As you all know, we love hosting dinner parties at our estate, and that means we’ve picked up a few tricks along the way. If you’re ever hosting a dinner party of your own, here are some tips to help everything go smoothly.
Make an A-List and a B-List
People are going to no-show or cancel last minute, so always keep a few extra names on hand to fill in for cancellations. Remember, friends on the B-list for one party can be on the A-list for another, they’re just people you know you can rely on to fill a gap. When building your guest list, try to pick people who share common interests if they haven’t met, or who you know get along if they have.
Get to Know Your Guests’ Preferences
Buying every kind of alcohol can be expensive and wasteful if your guests aren’t going to drink all of it. Are they martini people, or whiskey drinkers? Beer or rum? Big wine drinkers, or do they just enjoy a glass when it’s offered? Knowing this helps you decide what to buy and which wines to pull from the cellar.
Just as important, know your guests’ allergies, dietary restrictions, and preferences. It would be a disaster to serve peanut satay skewers to someone with a peanut allergy, or a menu full of pork to a guest who keeps kosher. A quick text to your guests ahead of time is all it takes to find out what to avoid.
The Great Wine and the Good Wine
As the evening goes on, you’ll be disappointed if you pull out incredible bottles that no one will remember. Always bring out your best wines first, that way you actually get to enjoy them. By your third or fourth glass, your palate is generally fatigued and you won’t appreciate a great bottle as much. That’s where the good, but not great, wine comes in for later pours. Make sure AJA is the first wine poured!
Set a Pretty Table
Dinner parties are about bringing people together over great food, wine, and conversation, but none of that lands without the right ambiance. Set a pretty table: a few colors, some flowers, and knowing where to place forks, knives, spoons, cups, and plates go a long way. Don’t skimp on the centerpiece, flowers, fruit, or simple foliage all bring a table together.
Greet Your Guests With a Drink or Food
Nothing feels more welcoming than greeting guests with food or wine the moment they arrive. It’s a dinner party, food is the main event! Every guest should have a drink in hand right away to get the evening going, whether it’s soda water, mini quiches, or sparkling wine. It’s a small sign of goodwill and gratitude.
Batch Your Cocktails
Don’t spend the whole night playing bartender. Mix up a pitcher of non-alcoholic punch, cider, or lemonade that guests can spike themselves, serve the liquor on the side, and let people pour their own. You don’t want to be responsible for refreshing everyone’s glass all evening. If you’d rather have a full bar, consider splurging on a bartender for the night, it’s usually worth it to actually enjoy your own party.
Know How Much to Buy
I like to make sure there’s enough wine and spirits to go around. My rule of thumb is three 5 oz pours per person, or 15 oz per guest. At about 25.4 oz per bottle, you can do the math from there: for a party of 10, that’s 150 oz divided by 25.4 oz, or roughly 6 bottles (round up).
The most important tip of all is to share those bottles of AJA with the people you hold closest to your heart. Wine and food are wonderful ways to bring people together.
We hope you have a spectacular next party!
Cheers!