Wines that are 'Just Right'
Anyone who has ever worked in a wine store knows the drill: someone comes in, mentioning that they will be at a dinner or party and a looking for a wine that everyone will like. And being on ‘the other side,’ as someone that is hosting a party and wants everyone to enjoy themselves to the max, from the company, to food, music and drinks, making a choice of which wines to have at a party or get together can be a hard decision to make.
And for wine lovers especially, you want to offer your guests wines that they will enjoy and remember, and ideally, a wine that you cannot get at the stores where everyone else goes to buy their wines. It makes for great conversation and discovery amoung guests to try a wine they never had before.
It’s actually a tall order since wines are complex and have so many different taste profiles and characteristics. Likewise everyone has different palettes, so how DO you find a wine that a lot of people will like.
How do you choose such crowd pleasing wines that fit all these criteria?
In this article, we give you tips and recommendations to help you pick out of the ordinary crowd pleasing wines, what we call Goldilocks wines: wines that are ‘just right’.
Wines for a Party
Goldilocks wines are just right… for gatherings, gifts, and parties!
What ever term you use, quaffable, glou glou, smooth wine, drinkable wine, these are all terms used to describe easy to drink wines that are wines that go down easy and don’t need food to pair with. These types of wines are often sought after for parties since in our culture, wine is often had on its own, perhaps just with some appetizers. Whether a casual gathering or a special occasion, these wines are great on their own, so just for sipping, without necessarily pairings foods to make the wines shine through.
We like to refer to them as Goldilocks Wines. This is because, like Goldilocks looking for porridge not too hot, but not too cold, but rather just right, these wines are not too much, or not too little, but can be just right for a wide range of palates and preferences.
This type of wine is where balance is key. This is a term we talked about in this previous article on winetasting terminology, and it’s a must have criteria to a wine that will need to be a crowd pleaser.
They are usually versatile, balanced, and, of course, easy to drink, without being too complex, tannic, overpowering, or acidic.
How do you go about finding wines like this? Let’s explore the characteristics of most people pleasing wines, and give you some examples of dry wines (and some sweet wines!) that can help get you started on finding that ‘just right’ wine for your next winetasting.
How to Find a Goldilocks Wine
A Goldilocks wine appeals to a wide range of tastes and preferences, without being too bland or boring. They are wines that are easy to drink, versatile with food, and affordable. They are wines that make your guests happy and satisfied, without overwhelming them with complexity or boring them with simplicity. Here are some characteristics of crowd pleasing wines.
Choosing a drinkable wine can be a challenge, as there are so many options and factors to consider. However, there are some ways to simplify and narrow down your choices, such as looking for certain characteristics. Before we dive in, if there are any terms you want to refresh, check out our Wine Lingo Guide for some definitions. Now, some Goldilocks characteristics:
Fruit Forward: Look for a wine that is fruit forward, meaning that they have prominent fruit flavors and aromas. Fruit forward wines are more accessible for both experienced and beginner wine drinkers and can be easier drinking wines than others that are too dry, earthy, or oaky.
Medium Bodied: Not too full, not too weak… but just right. Medium bodied wines follow that ‘middle of the road’ mentality to help please a maximum number of people. This doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t serve a full bodied red wine or an oaked chardonnay at a certain point of the gathering when the time is right.
Smooth or Round Finish: Picking a wine with a smooth or round finish means looking for something that have a soft aftertaste. They do not have long lasting overly apparent notes of acidity or tannins, but rather are smooth, soft, and without any ‘sharp edges’
Blended Wines: A blend is a great way to help find a little bit of the previous three points. Seeing as they can (when carefully crafted by an artisan winemaker) pull different wines, varieties, and flavors together, it is more likely that they can cover a wider base of preferences for wine drinkers.
Wine for Beer Drinkers: Check out our previous article for more on these wines, but picking wines like this can help beginner wine drinkers find their palate, or convert and satisfy beer lovers.
Lambruscos are great people pleaser wines: low in alcohol, fruity, bubbly.
Some Vero Goldilocks Wines
Ok, so now you have an idea of what types of things you can look out for in a wine to make sure it pleases the largest number of guests, let’s have a look at some examples of Goldilocks wines from the VeroShop.
A Lively Sparkling Wine
Everyone loves bubbles right? Besides being great options to cater to the Wine for Beer Drinkers category, a wine like Prosecco is the number one produced wine in Italy by volume for a reason… it’s a people pleaser. But what if you are looking for a sparkling wine with a little more fun to it? Try a pet nat wine! A pet nat prosecco bottled ‘col fondo’ or on the lees will satisfy any Prosecco lover, but also since they are dry wines they don’t have any residual sugars. As an added bonus, since they are unfiltered, natural wine drinkers will love them! This goes too for wines like Lambruscos. Made with red grapes, they have a touch of fun tannin off set by great fruit and lively bubbles and that natty col fondo flavor. Great Goldilocks wines… a little bit of everything.
Try: Zanon Pet Nat Prosecco Colfondo Natural Sparkling Wine and Col del Balt Codola Pet Nat Prosecco - Frignano Sgarbato Pet Nat Uva Tosca Organic Sparkling Natural Wine - Frignano Scurone Pet Nat Lambrusco Organic Sparkling Natural Wine
Fruity White Wines
There are some white wines that embody another of our suggestions: fruit forward wines. White wines can sometimes be a bit more people pleasing because of their lack of tannins, but you need to be careful that they are not too acidic. So, it helps if you search out those white wines that are super fruity flavored. These can be mono-varietal white wines like the Klassik Sauvignon Blanc from Austrian winery Michi Lorenz, or the Minutolo Ti Esti from Domus Hortae in Puglia. Or a blend of indigenous varieties like the oaked Richenza from woman owned Vigna Petrussa. As well, if you really liked oaked chardonnay or even steel aged chardonnay, try the Lugana or Lugana Garde from Zamichele on Lake Garda. These wines are great people pleasers because
Try: Michi Lorenz Sauvignon Blanc Klassik Natural Wine Organic Biodynamic - Domus Hortae Ti Esti Minutolo White Wine - Vigna Petrussa Richenza Oak Aged White Wine Blend Biodynamic - Zamichele Lugana Biodynamic White Wine - Zamichele Lugana Garde Biodynamic White Wine
Reds Ready to Throw Back
If white wines aren’t your thing, or you want to have a red wine to go alongside it, try pouring a quaffable red wine for your guests. These are red wines that have a touch of tannins, but are balanced by some wood aging and body to help create a balanced drinkable wine. These are red wines that you want to keep sipping, they are just flat out pleasant, delicious, and delectable. Between the fruity flavors, medium bodies, and balanced tannins they are great wines that have no sharp edges and people just keep loving. Bonus tip, try a rosé wine too, the light wine will have almost no tannins and normally they are fruity and fresh.
Try Quaffable Reds: La Maliosa Saturnia Rosso Tuscan Red Natural Wine Organic Biodynamic - Canalino Rosso di Toscana Tuscan Sangiovese Organic Biodynamic Natural Wine - Ecce Vinum Tempranillo Organic Natural Red Wine - Domus Hortae Kiaros Nero di Troia Rose Wine
A great easy red wine like an award-winning California Dolcetto has a natural balance of acidity and light tannins.
An Easy Red Wine
Tannins are a funny thing… in certain cases and for certain people, those rough tactile tannins are a holy grail. But for others, especially newbie wine lovers, they can be off-putting. When picking for a crowd, try wines that have a little less tannins. Now, to find red wines with lower levels of tannins you can either look for long-oak-aged reds (like the Piovano Piedmont Barbera), or a wine that maybe is only steel aged but naturally have less tannins (like the RiNera Unoaked Schioppettino). As well, a wine like the California Dolcetto from Ojai Pacific View covers a lot of these: dolcetto is naturally lower in tannins, it is oak aged for close to two years, and additionally it also has a nice acidity and fruit to help balance everything.
Try Easy Reds: Piovano Piedmont Barbera Natural Red Wine Organic - Vigna Petrussa RiNera Unoaked Schioppettino Red Wine Biodynamic - Ojai Pacific View Dolcetto California Red Wine
Bold Reds to Finish Off the Evening
Our last category of reds are bold. They are the ones that are sumptuous and decadant; that fill your mouth and are velvety. Here, you can go for either a blend (like from the Duoro) to help create those sensations, or you can go with a riserva style wine (like a Nizza) that has undergone oak aging to bring about the same effect. Just pick a wine that is well balanced: you want even fruits, acidity, and tannins. No ‘peaks’ of any of the three, but equal levels that create a well-rounded experience.
Try: Quinta de Valbom Duoro Red Wine Blend - Ivaldi 1613 Nizza Barbera Biodynamic Natural Red Wine
A Touch of Residual Sugar
Lastly, selecting a wine with some residual sugars can be a great way to find a Goldilocks wine for even the most beginner unexperienced wine drinker. These sweeter wines can be easier for the uninitiated to sip and seem less harsh than dry wines. The trick is, however, you want more than just sweet sugars. As VinePair said in their article 13 of the Best Sweet Wines for 2023, “The key is balance. Residual sugar in wine (the natural sugars remaining post-fermentation) only works if it is offset by good acidity.” Reading that, it is no wonder that they picked as one of these top 13 sweet wines Ivaldi’s Susbel Brachetto d’Acqui. We love as well, always from Ivaldi in the Monferrato, the Ros du Su Moscato d'Asti. Both wines display great structure and sapidity to match the sweetness, making sure that they are not cloying.
And of VinePair’s 13 Best Sweet Wines for 2023, the one with the highest points, at 96, is women-made Vigna Petrussa Picolit. VinePair’s review says: “Run, don’t walk to find and grab this bottle. It is a prime example of the harmony and complexity this style of wine is capable of expressing.” The harmony they refer to is balance, the key criteria for finding a people pleaser wine. This one for sure is a winner!
Sweet wines without this become tiring to drink after some time, wearing out the palate. Just be sure to pick a sweet wine that has good structure, acidity, and sapidity to balance everything out, or you can rely on us to do that!
Try: Ivaldi Ros du Su Moscato d'Asti Sweet Sparkling Wine Biodynamic - Ivaldi Susbel Brachetto d'Acqui Sweet Sparkling Red Wine Biodynamic - Vigna Petrussa Picolit Dessert Wine
Serve some Goldilocks wines at your next winetasting like the Susbel Brachetto d'Acqui, RiNera Unoaked Schioppettino, and Rosso di Toscana.
Find Unique Goldilocks Wines
It can be difficult to find ‘one wine to rule them all’, but we hope that with our suggestions and tips your next party will be a breeze! From Christmas wine gifts to holiday wine, Goldilocks wines are ‘just right’, especially if you don’t necessarily know what someone loves to drink. Alternatively, if you do know their wine taste preference, check out our Holiday Gift Guide for more ideas on Christmas wine or anytime wine gift.
For those of you that know our curation style, you know that we love to support small producers and bring you unique fun wines. And you can enjoy these curations by trying a selection of different wines and different winegrowers from our portfolio. We sell to both businesses and consumers across the US:
We are enlarging our network of distributors around the country. Reach out to us if you are interested in distributing our wines.
We sell to wine stores and restaurants in certain states - contact us if you would like more info.
We do corporate gifts and sommelier guided wine tastings. Email us and we’ll tailor unique and sustainable corporate gift ideas.
If our farm crafted wines and olive oils are not in your local shop or restaurant buy wine online here and we’ll ship it to you, including wine gift for Christmas, and we ship to most states.
We also have a wine club for true wine explorers seeking to discover a unique and authentic small production wine they never had - plus, it has won an award for Best Wine Club!
Let us know in the comments below your favorite Goldilocks wine!
