Bring-a-bottle etiquette

[V8mate]

If guests bring wine do you serve that evening or 'put it away'?

And does your position on that affect the qualiy of the wine you take with you when you're a guest elsewhere?

[doesnt post much]

Serve it.

That's the point of BAB imo; you have supplied the food, the guest bring the booze.

On the second point, I always take nice booze...if I won't drink it I won't take it!

[V8mate]

Sorry - maybe the title is mis-leading. (In fact, on reflection, it definitely is )

I was thinking more of people who bring abottle as a gift when they come round for, for example, a dinner party.

[Kneetrembler]

doesnt post much said:

Serve it.

That's the point of BAB imo; you have supplied the food, the guest bring the booze.

On the second point, I always take nice booze...if I won't drink it I won't take it!

Exactly

[ewenm]

Presumably the hosts have chosen wine to complement the dinner, so I'd expect that to be served first. The guests gift bottle might not fit well with the meal.

[anonymous-user]

doesnt post much said:

Serve it.

That's the point of BAB imo; you have supplied the food, the guest bring the booze.

On the second point, I always take nice booze...if I won't drink it I won't take it!

V8mate said:

Sorry - maybe the title is mis-leading. (In fact, on reflection, it definitely is )

I was thinking more of people who bring abottle as a gift when they come round for, for example, a dinner party.

[Pferdestarke]

Ask them if they want to drink theirs now, or would they rather have yours with the meal (which you will have paired) and have theirs afterwards.

relax and enjoy the evening.

[V8mate]

digimeistter said:

doesnt post much said:

Serve it.

That's the point of BAB imo; you have supplied the food, the guest bring the booze.

On the second point, I always take nice booze...if I won't drink it I won't take it!

V8mate said:

Sorry - maybe the title is mis-leading. (In fact, on reflection, it definitely is )

I was thinking more of people who bring abottle as a gift when they come round for, for example, a dinner party.

Was simply differentiating from a 'bring-a-bottle' party, i.e. a drinks party to which you're 'supposed' to bring something, from guests bringing a bottle of wine to some other kind of function simply as a gift, when they could, alternatively have brought flowers or another gift.

[Mobile Chicane]

Depends on who it is and what their level of wine knowledge is.

If they're wine / food buffs I know they'll have thought about what goes with what, in which case I generally take a very good bottle and say "You might want to keep that for yourself".

Friends generally do the same for me, unless they bring dessert wine which is always quaffed there and then.

Edited by Mobile Chicane on Saturday 13th February 18:33

[EmmaP]

If someone brings a bottle of wine to my house I consider it good manners to open it and have it with the meal. It's a sign of appreciation of the gift. On the other hand if it doesn't compliment the meal I'd thank my friend and say that we'd have 'x' bottle as it went better with the dish.

I, on the other hand, have been disappointed when a bottle I have bought hasn't been opened as I've wanted to try it

[ali_kat]

Depends how cold it is!

Generally, we have what we bought to go with the meal whilst eating, then theirs afterwards

Rarely have anything left the next day

[V8mate]

EmmaP said:

If someone brings a bottle of wine to my house I consider it good manners to open it and have it with the meal. It's a sign of appreciation of the gift. On the other hand if it doesn't compliment the meal I'd thank my friend and say that we'd have 'x' bottle as it went better with the dish.

I, on the other hand, have been disappointed when a bottle I have bought hasn't been opened as I've wanted to try it

You see, that's exactly what I was wondering. You suffer because you expect people to behave in their homes the same way you'd behave in yours.

It's highly unlikely that I'd ever open something someone brought on that occasion. But I'm always careful in my choices for a gift, so often hope that I'll get a glass at some point

[Engineer1]

IIRC a famous food critic type takes a decanter of port or brandy as the fact it's in your decanter means it must be drunk that night.

[RDMcG]

We do a few dinner parties a year and go to quite a few more. The basic rule is never to open wine that has been brought as a gift as the dinner wine has already been chosen. We are all comfortable it. The sole exception is if someone has something exceptional that they want to share, and checks with the host to see if its a good fit with the meal. (We are all easy-going wine collectors so its generally more interesting to try something that's not from your own stuff anyway.)

[anonymous-user]

RDMcG said:

We do a few dinner parties a year and go to quite a few more. The basic rule is never to open wine that has been brought as a gift as the dinner wine has already been chosen. We are all comfortable it. The sole exception is if someone has something exceptional that they want to share, and checks with the host to see if its a good fit with the meal. (We are all easy-going wine collectors so its generally more interesting to try something that's not from your own stuff anyway.)

Proper wine etiquette is not to open the wine brought bye guests, Indeed white wine should never be taken chilled as it may lead to the presumtion that your wine should be drunk. However it depends on where you are taking it and in less informal environments a may be less important. If its round to mates house for a spag bog or a chilli I dont think it would matter if you suggest it was drunk that evening!

[RDMcG]

MonkeyMatt said:

RDMcG said:

We do a few dinner parties a year and go to quite a few more. The basic rule is never to open wine that has been brought as a gift as the dinner wine has already been chosen. We are all comfortable it. The sole exception is if someone has something exceptional that they want to share, and checks with the host to see if its a good fit with the meal. (We are all easy-going wine collectors so its generally more interesting to try something that's not from your own stuff anyway.)

Proper wine etiquette is not to open the wine brought bye guests, Indeed white wine should never be taken chilled as it may lead to the presumtion that your wine should be drunk. However it depends on where you are taking it and in less informal environments a may be less important. If its round to mates house for a spag bog or a chilli I dont think it would matter if you suggest it was drunk that evening!

If it involves a bit of industrial consumption, or some supplementary ale is involved, you are 100%!

[anonymous-user]

EmmaP said:

If someone brings a bottle of wine to my house I consider it good manners to open it and have it with the meal. It's a sign of appreciation of the gift. On the other hand if it doesn't compliment the meal I'd thank my friend and say that we'd have 'x' bottle as it went better with the dish.

I, on the other hand, have been disappointed when a bottle I have bought hasn't been opened as I've wanted to try it

this

[Simpo Two]

MonkeyMatt said:

Proper wine etiquette is not to open the wine brought bye guests

That is my understanding too. To grasp the proffered gift and rip it open immediately implies that one does not have sufficient wine in one's cellar!



It also means that if it's Tempranillo, the host can cover his disappointment and pass it on to the next host...

[grumbledoak]

For a dinner party it is poor form to open the guests' wine. You should have enough, and good enough, that it is not necessary. You can make an exception if they ask, obviously.

[anonymous-user]

grumbledoak said:

For a dinner party it is poor form to open the guests' wine. You should have enough, and good enough, that it is not necessary. You can make an exception if they ask, obviously.

So why ask them to bring one?