How to Choose Beer, Wine and Spirits

Start with the occasion, not the label

The most useful question is not which bottle is best, but what the bottle is for. A weeknight dinner, a backyard cookout, a birthday toast and a quiet glass on the porch all point to different choices, and none of them are wrong. Decide how many people you are serving and how long the gathering will last, then let that guide the shelf you walk down.

Wine: match the weight to the food

Lighter dishes such as salads, seafood and roasted vegetables sit comfortably beside crisp white wines and light reds. Heartier plates of steak, stew or barbecue can carry a fuller-bodied red without being overwhelmed. If you are buying for a mixed table, a medium-bodied red and a clean, dry white cover nearly everyone.

Sweetness matters more than most shoppers expect. A wine that tastes balanced alone can turn sharp beside a spicy dish, so for anything with heat reach for something with a touch of sweetness or a bright, fruity finish.

Beer: freshness and storage do the work

Beer is perishable, so check dates on anything hoppy and buy from a store that turns its stock over. Hoppy styles fade first and are best enjoyed within a few weeks of packaging, while stouts, porters and many Belgian styles hold up far longer.

Store beer cold and upright, away from direct sunlight, and skip the garage shelf in summer. For a crowd, buy a mix of light lagers, a hoppy option and one darker choice, then keep everything on ice so guests can serve themselves.

Spirits: the base matters most

With spirits, the base spirit in the bottle affects the finished drink more than the brand name on the label. A clean, neutral vodka disappears into a mixer; a juniper-forward gin stays present in a tonic; a bourbon brings sweetness and oak to an old fashioned.

For cocktails, a solid mid-range bottle is the practical choice because mixers and citrus carry much of the flavor. Save the special bottle for sipping neat or over a single large ice cube, where you can actually taste the difference.

How much to buy

A standard bottle of wine pours about five glasses. A 750ml bottle of spirits makes roughly sixteen mixed drinks, and a case of beer covers about eight to ten people for an evening. If your guests will be there for several hours, plan on two drinks per person in the first hour and one per hour after that, then round up. It is far easier to send a guest home with an unopened bottle than to run out halfway through the night.

Ask us before you buy

If you do not see what you are looking for on our shelves, just ask one of us. We would rather help you find the right bottle than have you settle for a guess, and we are glad to suggest something in your budget that fits the meal or the occasion.