That should work fine. An alternative that I have used a few times is to open a few bottles in advance and thank the well-meaning but misguided guest but explain that I have opened a few bottles already to let them breathe so how about if we wait to see if people want more after those are done. By the time the bottles I opened are done, either people will not want more or they will be so inebriated that they can’t tell the difference.
Another approach I use is to BEG people not to bring wine because “I have so much wine that I need to turn over inventory or I will never be able to drink everything I already owned before I die.” That usually works, but I do remember a friend of my wife who brought a Magnum of Argentinian Malbec with a sticker price in the single digits despite my request. My fallback position was my first suggestion above, and a few years later I use that bottle of Malbec for a very nice beef stew.
But, on the other hand, most of the people I tend to invite either know enough about wine to bring something worth drinking or come to my house with the knowledge that they are going to ask me if they can raid my cellar and get some good stuff on my dime.
I haven’t re read the whole thread, but has anyone considered the possibility that some of these guests don’t like the wines you serve? I know I love wines that are “too earthy, too acidic, too dry, too austere” or “not enough oak, fruit, or sweetness”. I think opening a couple for “choice” is a good plan.
This. I have had guests look askance at wine I consider really quite good. One of my best friends loves, loves, loves oak bomb chards and she hates almost everything I like. C’est la vie
I can safely say that this has never happened to me. I think the ‘best’ random guest bottle I’ve received was a J. Lohr cab. A for effort…but still a re-gifter
I took a Vega Sicilia Unico to a dinner at an English friend’s and he put it apart because they had the wines for the evening already planned. There were not too bad, but I kept on thinking of my VS with despair all evening!!
