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Labor Day weekend is coming up. Do you drink wine at parties and picnics? Or do you just drink beer there and save wine for dinners and such?

Not sure what "Labor Day weekend" is, but I drink wine on daily basis, that is if I don't need to have my head cristal clear in the evening. Wine is healthy, wine is pleasant on taste. Beer is not. Haven't tried a single bottle of beer in my life, though. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> And am not going to. Why drink beer if it has absolutely no use and no remarkable taste? I'd go for juice or whater.

On Labor Day and other holidays, our household offers guests and family their choice of beer, wine, sodas, wine coolers, juices, etc. We TRY to cover most bases, but we do not go "crazy" and spend lots of money for the beverages. Also, most of our family/guests will bring a bottle or a six-pack to add to the supply.

(We also take car keys at the door and our "designated" person either sends any inebriated guest upstairs to an empty bedroom or home in a cab. Everyone knows this is how we handle things.)

Kitty

Kitty

I usually drink wine, as long as I don't have to use the noggin too much that evening. Beer just doesn't taste all that great to me. I guess that's why I don't understand when my husband comments that a certain beer tastes really good.

I guess that people like beer because it's unexpensive and can be taken a lot in summer, it maybe nice when it's real cold. I will never consider a beer as a "drink" on the same level as wine. It's just that all the drinks usually serve a purpose: beer - can drink a lot of it, good at summer and doesn't cost much, vodka and whiskey - well usually they are taken if a person wants to get drunk quickly or to warm up (I'm not talking about 30gr of vodka with caviar nor about a half a glass of whiskey after lunch in a deep conversation <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ). Wine ... wine is very tricky to drink it the right way. You don't just open a bottle, pour it in a glass and drink it. Each wine (especially red ones) must be served at a right temperature depending on how old it is, it must be accordingly decanted, and must be poured in according to its age glasses. In many occasions, red wine can taste very different depending on the food you take it with. It may taste bad if you just take it out of fridge, open the bottle and have a drink. So, why bother to think about all this, when beer is "plug & play" sort of thing? It just makes it easier. I guess so. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> And if you come to think of your health ... wine and vodka may be the only ones that contribute somewhat positively (especially wine), and beer ... Personally I haven't ever tried a glass of beer and will never do it, unless circumstances force me to. Just as smoking, have never tried it and will never do it. Just like taking drugs. Just like drinking heavy things on regular basis. There are just some things you should stay away from, and you'll be doing yourself a great favor. Those things are addictive, if you've weakened once, it will last for a long time. You can't just tell your husband "Stop drinking beer at lunch!", and even if he says "OK, I won't do it anymore.", it will be very hard to accomplish. It's like trying to make a kid stop drinking all kinds of Coca-Cola company products at the day he has been drinking it for years. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Sad. But you better not htink of it too much, because if you realy analyse what humans often eat, do to themselves and all those things, you'll be horrified. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One more note though on parties. Don't know the way it is in USA, here you can buy a bottle of a very decent wine for about five dollars. (That is of course if you're dedicated to wine and not just buy the first bottle you see in supermarket).

We are not beer drinkers, so we usually serve wine or iced tea. We bought beer for my son's graduation party in May and last week were able to (finally) give the rest away.
I take care not to over serve. It's one advantage of serving a quality wine rather than swill. It tends to be drunk at a slower rate and savored, rather than gulped down. You can get a decent wine for about $6.