There is nothing better than finishing work, and going for a drink with friends. Wine is a great drink to enjoy with friends, as you can get a bottle and share the experience. This article talks about different types of wine, and when it is best for you to sit down and enjoy the experience. It also recommends wines for certain occasions.

Wine is best enjoyed socially. There is nothing sadder than having a bottle of wine home alone. Firstly you don’t finish it, and wine that has been kept in the fridge is never as good the next day. Secondly, after it has been opened and kept, it is only good for cooking with (eg risotto), which is also better enjoyed with the company of friends.

In summer, at parties and BBQs, a rosé wine or Chardonnay is recommended. The BBQ is a place where you need something with a bit of flavour to compete with all the rich tastes of the meat and highly flavoured salads and accompanying sauces. A rosé wine is fruity, and will stand up to the flavours of the foods on offer. It also goes well with desserts. Chardonnay is a heavier white wine, often with an oaky taste, which will work well with the food. In fact, it complements a nice juicy spiced steak very well. Your friends will appreciate your thought with the wine that you have supplied, as well as making for a great event.

For an after-work drink, be it with the girls or a wider group, a Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio are white wines that you can’t go wrong with. White wine works best in summer (as long as the drinking establishment has chilled it properly – there is nothing worse than a glass of warm white wine).

In winter, why not have a winter party? You can serve mulled wine, which is great treat to have with friends, and really makes the party swing. To make a fantastic mulled wine, push cloves into an orange and cut up some apple. Put these into a pan and add a bottle of red wine, a cinnamon stick, some orange juice and heat gently. Add some sugar to taste, and you will have the perfect warming party drink.

But of course the best drink to enjoy with friends is a bottle of sparkling wine, cava or Champagne. Why is that? Sparkling wine usually means that you are celebrating and so guarantees a fantastic party atmosphere. So why wait?

Just remember that wine is a fantastic social drink, so why not ring up your friends now and plan a night out?

Fiona Muller has been writing for over 20 years. She is a qualified journalist and has worked in food and drink writing for the last few years. For a great selection of wines, including information on what they go best with, go to

http://www.laithwaites.co.uk/