AIBU to expect visitors to bring a decent bottle of wine with them.

[Mushypeasandchipstogo]

We have had lots of friends and relatives over to stay and for dinner over Christmas. It is lovely to see them all but why do they always bring a totally crap bottle of New World wine with them?
I have in my kitchen 10 bottles of vile red and white wine. Should I pour it all down the sink, use it for cooking or give it back to them next time I visit? Any other options would be considered!

People always offload wine they wouldn't drink themselves, obviously- I take it back when I visit them!

Nope, not true. I always buy wine especially to take with, and it's always decent.

I would be too embarrassed to 'offload' a shite bottle!

I never take crap wine to a party/dinner.

The only thing that annoys me is people who, when you say you'll do food and they should bring wine, turn up with one bottle and two bottles of soft drink ("because not everyone will want to drink") yeah - we knew that. And got the soft drinks in because they cost next to nothing....

At least they brought a bottle round with them.

On Christmas Day I hosted, I do this every year as we have an open plan room so can fit everyone it. As I do it every year we split the cost of the main food (I always buy all extras such as chocs, biscuits, xmas crackers, soft drinks) and of course I always have plenty of wine/champagne/baileys etc as we drink it over the course of the hols.

SIL and her husband came as they do each year completely empty handed, not even with what they wanted to drink.

I would always take drink with me as well as a bottle of wine or a gift for hosts but at the very least surely you bring something for you to drink.

I hosted another night for her as she got married over the holidays and I provided and cooked the food which I had offered to do but neither her nor her friend or 2 DCs brought anything with them.

At the end of the night she asked what she could bring round NYE so I said drink. She turned up with 2 cheap bottles of fizz and when I asked what she wanted to drink she said she didn't fancy what she brought round so drank mine anyway

Adding to what other posters have said, I would also never take leftover crap wine for hosts, I always go to the shop on the way and buy the most expensive wine that is half price also will always buy chocs or flowers. I am definitely not a wine snob and I have a preference for a particular type of wine but the cheap stuff is fine for what I like.

you sound hard work op, but the guests need a few glasses of wine down their necks when they come to yours

Just a thought though - they may have liked that particular wine and thought you would too? I like the £5-7 range TBH.

I am not sure I would even know what was cheap or not unless it was Lambrini.

I saw a programme on TV about wine being put to the test with so called "wine connoisseurs" to see if they could spot the expensive matured wine with good old cheap plonk. Guess what, they couldn't tell the difference half the time.

I would take any bottle brought to my house in the spirit in which it is given. Just because you don't like anything from the New World (madness I think, there are some fantastic wines from there... try this one... it's Chilean which is classed as New World and it is absolutely divine) doesn't mean to say they are all crap.

My friend and her DH always text to ask if we'd prefer them to bring red or white...and then turn up with both (and usually a bottle of fizz too...) Best dinner party guests!!

YABU unless its like Lambrini lol

Just shuffle it among your friends when you revisit them. Some people are just bringing it out of courtesy.

Never cook with wine you wouldn't be prepared to drink.

If it's that bad , pour it away.

Clearly you have no idea what you are talking about or about wine

They are probably just bringing wine they like. I dislike most Pinot Grigio, SIL brings it because she likes it. What wines do you like OP?

OP is BU if for no other reason because the vast majority of European wine is grown on American rootstock anyway, so unless she only drinks Bolly she is drinking tainted wine anyway.

I honestly had no idea that people still dismiss 'new world wines', it reminds me of my parents friends years and years ago

our local radio was asking for bottles of wine as an e.g for raffle prizes. I'm sure someone could make use of them

Is it this stuff?

You should do as they do here in Spain. Here it's seen as rude if, when hosting a dinner party, you don't open the wine your guests bring. You should serve what is brought for you. Like a pp said, surreptitiously serve the crap to them whilst topping your own glad up with better stuff.

Also, you can't make sweeping statements that just because wine is cheap, î has to be crap and expensive had to be good. That's a load of bollocks, IMHO.

I wouldn't know a 'good' bottle of wine if it jumped up and bit me. We buy wine and if we like it we buy some more. Luckily I think it is highly unlikely that you know me, or my offerings would definitely be destined for your sink.

How rude. I don't drink but I would still bring wine or something. But I wouldn't have a clue about quality other than price, which as we all know isn't always a guarantee of quality anyway.

if I find a wine a bit rough, I just add lemonade

'New World wines' are fine - I bet you only think you can taste the difference.
I bet if someone blindfolded you and gave you some Lambrini to drink you would say 'ooh yes lovely'.

oooh cow you must add coca cola to rough red wine - it is the nectar of the gods. I think Spanish teens even have a name for this fine cocktail.

Sunny, that delightful student cocktail is called calimocho. I have had many a hangover from hell thanks to that!!