Wines for Dinner Party

[sdfny]

Having a dinner party within the next two weeks and would like to know what kind of wines to serve. I will be serving, poultry, seafood and beef and it will be a party of 1 dozen people. Help me please!!!

[Innkeeper]

Hi Sdfny, and welcome to the Wine Board. First the easy part; you will need six bottles of wine. Not knowing how the foods are to be prepared makes definitive recommendations difficult. If the poultry is chicken prepared simply, and if the seafood is shellfish or light (non oily) finfish prepared simply; a sauvignon blanc from the Loire, e.g. Sancerre or from New Zealand, e.g. Villa Maria or Selaks would work. If the beef is steak or roast beef a cabernet sauvignon that is ready to drink would be fine. Most cabs under $15 are ready to drink. Another possibility is syrah/shiraz from the Rhone, California, or Australia. The latter would also be recommended if the beef were stewed in any way. Unless you know the preferences of the guests precisely, get three bottles of red and three of white.