What to pop at your Oscars party

The best part of all the red carpets, doling out of Oscars, and seeing whose speech makes you cry, is of course the parties we get to throw. Along with your menu of finger food and larger plates that keep people fueled for the 5-hour carpet and show marathon, here are wines to serve based on your favorite award category.

Supporting Actress

Kick off the night with some sparkling rosé. It’s great to cleanse your palate with bubbles, and I always feel like pink ones make it even more festive. Try Domaine Carneros Brut Rosé, which has great pink rose petal aromas and strawberry fruit. Purchase on Drizly starting at $35.99.

Supporting Actor

Keeping it light for the start of the night, try a savory, herbal Schiava (also known as Vernatsch). It’s a really light red from northern Italy and is phenomenal with prosciutto. Nals Margreid Galea is a very cherry and violet version that can even be served with a little chill on it. Purchase on Wine.com starting at $19.99.

Best Actress

The show’s progressing, and you’re done with the appetizers. Time for some fuller-bodied wines. A lush and floral Pinot Gris packed with pear and apple is a crowd pleaser. And the WillaKenzie Pinot Gris from the Willamette Valley in Oregon (one of the best Pinot Gris areas) has lots of yellow apple but a mineral backbone that’s great for food. Purchase on Drizly starting at $15.

Best Actor

Main courses and meat will be great with a structured and muscular Cabernet. Mount Veeder from Napa is dusty and tannic and delicious. For a more affordable but still good bottle, look for ones from Chile. Los Vascos has nice black current flavors and you can find it for under $15. Purchase Mount Veeder starting at $16.99 and Los Vascos starting at $7.75 on Drizly.

Best Picture

The night’s biggest award deserves some great Champagne. (However, feel free to pop this open in the beginning of the night so the good stuff can be used to combat the overly-long non-award parts you always have to sit through.) The balance of roasted almonds and honey in Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut is the perfect way to celebrate another award night party’s success! Purchase on Drizly starting at $34.98.

 

 

Alyssa Vitrano is the founder of grapefriend.com, a blog that interweaves wine and pop culture. After a career as a magazine entertainment editor and a producer at MTV, Alyssa got hooked on the grape. Once she was certified in both Viticulture & Vinification and Blind Tasting from the American Sommelier Association, she started grapefriend to give people a place to have as much fun finding out about wine as they do when they’re drinking it. Alyssa has written regular wine articles for Marie Claire, Yahoo Food and Cosmopolitan, and has been featured in Bon Appetit, Parade, Edible Long Island, and Glamour. In addition to her blog, she has a fun and highly engaged social media following.