A great party needs great wine. What wines are best served at an office Christmas party?

That depends on what food you are serving and if the party is low-key or a lavish gala. I personally like to offer my guests a variety of wines to choose from.

Something to remember is that the type of wine glass you choose for your party is as important as the wine you choose. I suggest Spanish wine glasses; they are low to the table yet the sturdy design is perfect for any office party.

Must-haves at office Christmas parties are food and bar stations. These seem to be a win-win for everyone. You get credit for throwing the best office Christmas party ever and your guests have a variety of choices. Let’s face it — it is hard to please everyone, but I really believe you can please most guests by offering unique stations.

I spoke with Mary Hostetler, a fellow wine drinker and artisan, about her choice of wine. Mary enjoys Arbor Mist because of its fruity flavor. She also enjoys a fruit sangria because it pairs nicely with any Italian dish.

Furthermore, she thinks green apple wine goes great with party appetizers. I must agree with Mary, and I would set up a station offering a fruity wine with Italian food and a station offering a plethora of appetizers.

My lifelong friend and partner in crime Mollye Conteh really knows her wines. We recently visited the Indian Bear Winery and Georgetown Vineyards in Ohio.

Conteh enjoys a nice glass of mountain berry. It is a sweet red berry wine. It is good with savory foods like steak or chicken and veggies. This would be an excellent idea for another station.

Personally, I like a good strawberry wine. It is soft, not over bearing, goes down smooth and pairs nicely with a salad. I would keep this station light and airy by offering a strawberry wine and an assortment of salads.

I suggest adding a fish station to the party but please keep in mind that white wine is the better option when it comes to combining these two. Red wines can leave a metallic aftertaste, so serve white wine.

Champagne is refreshing, and I would serve it with a lean and flaky fish like seabass. If you want to serve a medium textured fish like trout, I suggest serving chardonnay.

If you serve a meaty fish like swordfish, I suggest using a French chardonnay like white burgundy. Don’t be afraid to serve up fish tacos, because they are great with champagne.

A cheese station is an obvious choice to offer at any office Christmas party. So what wine goes best with cheese?

I would serve Asti Spumante with baby Swiss cheese; add nuts, a nutty bread and dried fruits to this station. Baby Swiss cheese is a semi-soft cheese and Asti Spumante is an Italian sparkling white wine. They compliment each other nicely.

I would also serve zinfandel, which is more of a rose wine that can be used for drinking or cooking. I would serve it with Monterey jack cheese.

Another popular station is bread and wine. Any bread with raisins, fruits or nuts should be served with Riesling wine. Stereotyped as a sticky wine made from sweet grapes Riesling wine might not rank as high as, say, merlot or chardonnay but it is still a desirable wine to most.

When it comes to wine everyone is going to have their favorite. That’s why it’s important to offer as many choices as you can. The easiest way to do that is by setting up food and wine stations.