The holidays come with parties, get-togethers and time with friends, yet parties always beg the question: What should we bring?

Many people will bring a nice bottle of pinot noir or zinfandel. Yet certain wines taste best with certain foods, and while it’s all subjective to individuals’ likes and dislikes, ask the host what is being served to figure out what wine will best pair with the meal. As the host, find wthe middle ground with these great wine pairings.

Keith Kiplinger, the floor supervisor at The Old Mill Restaurant in Austin, who also works at the bar, has come to know many different wines.

Although he said wine is very personalized with each person’s different likes and dislikes, he shared some of his favorite wine and food matches.

“Some people don’t order according to what they’re drinking,” Kiplinger said. “They just order what they like to eat and order what they like to drink and don’t worry about it.”

Kiplinger noted when people who don’t drink a lot of wine come into the restaurant, he likes to start them off with certain wines depending on what their meal is and go from there, changing to a sweeter or more tart wine on their request.

These pairings should please your party guests and get them in the holiday spirit:

Menage a Trois

This California red wine, made by Folie A Deux Winery, is a blend of three different types of wine. Kiplinger described this blend as a wine that goes with most anything.

“This one being so well rounded you can go with beef, you can go with pork, you can go with chicken,” he said.

He likes to start the customer off with this wine and find out if they would like a lighter, darker or heavier wine or maybe even another taste all together. Personally, Kiplinger enjoys a good steak, so he would pair this wine with steak for his own meal, but he said this wine can go with burgers, prime rib or anything.

Moscato

This white wine by Cavit Collection is one of the more popular wines at The Old Mill, according to Kiplinger.

“This one has a little bubble to it, so it opens up flavors, opens up your tastebuds to accept the flavors,” he said.

“It’s probably our biggest seller of the white wines,” he added.

Kiplinger paired this wine with light food such as appetizers, or a lighter meat like chicken. He said the citrus in the chicken and lighter foods goes well with the white blend.

Pinot Noir

This red wine by Castle Rock Winery is a little more tart yet a little lighter than wines such as cabernet, according to Kiplinger. He matched the wine with meats, mostly whiter meats.

“I’ll say pork mostly, but it’ll go with a steak depending on the individual,” he said.

He also paired the wine with chicken. With the lighter, more tart taste, it matches well with whiter meats, including meats with citrus flavors and certain fish.

Zinfandel

Kiplinger said this red wine by The Seven Deadly Zins will go well with steak. Depending on the Zin, the wine can be a little more dry with more mineral content to it. Since there is no tartness, the wine soaks into tastebuds with an earthy-like taste instead of a smack.

“I like contrast, so when I’m having a nice steak … it just goes, it makes it pop,” Kiplinger said.

Pinot Grigio

This white wine by Walnut Crest is an Italian wine, which Kiplinger mostly paired with chicken or fish. He said because of the lightness of the white meats, pork is also a good choice for this wine.

“This one you’re going to get a grassy, a little citrus, more so than chardonnay,” he said. “You’re going to get a little oak, a little more dry.”

J. Lohr, Riverstone

This red wine by J. Lohr Winery will go well with any fish or chicken dish as it has a more buttery taste, with a few more flavors mixed in to create a variety of flavor.

“It’s got a little bit of buttery taste to it as well as citrus, a little bit of oak,” Kiplinger said.