Press

By Sara L. Schneider

Whether it’s the 1920s or the 2020s, as party season commences, a timeless question remains: What bottle of wine should you bring your host?

Plenty of practical considerations arise while mulling your pick. How much should you drop? Pitfalls lurk at both extremes—too little and you’re a cheapskate or not doing as well as everyone thinks; too much and you risk showboating. Try to target the range the host typically drinks and serves. And if you don’t know, scan their Instagram posts or chat them up about recent bottles you both enjoyed to glean some intel. Then there’s the moment of the exchange: Will the bottle be uncorked or carted away to the cellar? Say buh-bye to your secret wish to taste the wine that evening; once you’ve handed it over, it’s the host’s—their choice. You could hint that if poured tonight it needs some time in a decanter, but don’t count on a sip.
Beyond the etiquette pointers, what about the actual bottle? Think in archetypes. We looked to the great partiers of the Jazz Age—the jock, the flapper, the heiress and others—and what they might have wanted to drink if they were around to enjoy our completely delicious (and legal) options today.

The Speculator

In the 1920s there was new money to be made on the fringes of growing industries from oil to real estate to even the birth of Hollywood. The speculators thrive on big risk, big reward and living large—and they’re not afraid to show it.

Immortal Estate 2016 Impassable Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County

Located high on the ridge between Napa and Sonoma, Immortal’s steeply sloped estate vineyard falls on the Sonoma side of the line. That’s a good thing: Rising from 1,100 to 1,700 feet, the vines enjoy cooling ocean breezes from the west (which never quite make it into Napa), stretching the growing season—hence good acidity, complexity and mature tannins. Spice and licorice open, with briary blackberry aromas, high-toned floral notes, dried herbs and a smoke box character emerging just behind. Deep and textured fruit flavors— more blackberry and cassis—deliver against a balance of plushness and tension, freshness and serious structure. ($303)