Not food but wine. Party contribution, took nice wine got cheap plonk

Sorry, I'm not really understanding the question. Did someone ask you what you took to a birthday celebration? And what were you given?

Do you mean everyone took a bottle of wine to a ‘do’ and then when you were given a drink it was a cheaper wine
Yes very rude, drink what you’re given with a smile on your face and be grateful you were invited

If it were given at the same time as the gift I would assume it was part of the gift and not open it at that time.

Yes, I think it would be, as you are taking the wine as a gift to the hosts. They control when bottles are opened - imagine if everybody wanted to drink what they had taken, you could end up with multiple open bottles at the end of the evening.

When we have guests, if they bring wine with them I wouldn't dream of serving it. I would also consider it very rude of them to ask for what they had brought with them and tbh no one has ever asked! I take a decent bottle of wine if I am a guest and drink what I am given . It's called being polite and I hope they enjoy the wine I have given them.

If in doubt about the proffered wine ask for a soft drink, your gift is just that.

If invited to a meal, I find most people open the wine brought by the guest. I think this way it ensures the guest gets wine they enjoy. If the host doesn't do this, it is rude for the guest to ask for their gift to be opened.
The only exception to this is if you are served something you have a medical/allergic reason not to drink, the same as food offered. I cannot drink fizzy drinks so would ask for water instead.

I always thought that the wine brought by a guest should not be served by the host.
We try to serve wine at the right temperature. If someone turns up with a bottle of white that has spent half an hour in a warm car would you enjoy it?

That's what I was going to say, Pamela.

I’ve never thought it correct to open and drink the wine guests have brought (unless there’s some sort of dietary necessity). It would also be mixing drinks that way - a Merlot, then perhaps a Shiraz or a Rioja.
The only thing is, if offered white, I’d have to request unoaked, or I’d probably just stick with red if the host was unsure.

I was invited to a VE celebration at a friend’s house. I took a bottle of white wine, as a gift for the host. Plus, I took some snacks. The wine was for the host, but the snacks were for the table.

Very rude

It depends. The OP said the wine was a contribution. Was it like the bring a bottle parties we used to go to where they served the not so good first in the hope that the best would be left at the end?
That’s not exactly good host tactics.
If it was a contribution to the hosts to thank them for your invitation, then I guess you take what you’re given.
If it’s a meal, and I’d been asked to bring wine then like elusive butterfly I’d expect them to serve the wine I’d brought, though I wouldn’t ask.

I once took a bottle of Lambrusco ( which I love!) to a family do and my niece said, oh it’s the cheap fizzy stuff . Mind you, last Christmas a dear family friend gave us a bottle of very expensive wine which we opened for our Christmas meal and we all agreed that it was horrible ( he wasn’t at the meal by the way and we never told him).

Mollygo why would you expect them to serve your wine if everyone had brought a bottle??
I mean in fairness the original poster hasn’t made it very clear
I m presuming it’s a party and everyone is taking a bottle but I suppose it could be just Cambsnan going for the meal
Either way you get what you are given in my opinion

I do take a bottle of wine but I would not expect it to be served as it would probably be warm. I prefer very chilled white or blush wine if I have red wine it’s Merlot with food.

I would accept the wine offered but if I didn’t like it I wouldn’t ask for another glass. I always offer to take food or a dessert for the company to share.

I’ve only ever had one bottle of wine I could not finish, wine does vary greatly but has nothing to do with cost, most supermarket offering is decent wine. Tastes do vary a lot, if we have a party I serve what I think is the nicest first, after a few glasses they don’t know what they’re drinking anyway.

The host pairs the wine with the food, and anything guests bring is left unopened. The exception might be a student party with a BYOB invitation - I do remember that being a thing when nobody could afford to buy enough for others, and people not only drank their own wine but took home what they didn’t finish . I would find an adult party that worked on that basis very odd though.

I had a delicious lambrusco once in Italy. It was quite dry and a DOC wine - but I think whatever you took it was a bit rude (or maybe uneducated?) to comment. I assume she was quite young!

Re the original question - I think wine is generally chosen to go with foods but fir a big "do" recently we had a "tasting" day with immediate family and actually chose less distinctive wines that seemed more acceptable to everyone's taste.

If the wine came with a gift I'd assume it was for me (for later).

You all live in a different world to me any parties I used to go to weren’t that genteel 🤣 but I haven’t been to one of any kind for about 15 years None of my friends have dinner parties just lunch out or coffee and cake sort of people

BlueBelle I'm not sure it was a party - I assumed Camsnan was at someone's house for a birthday meal (I thought the close family friend type)

I didn't read "party" into it.
I think most of us probably have friends we cook for occasionally to enjoy each other's company.

I wouldn't dream of asking for my own wine back to drink if I had taken it to a gathering. I drink what I am given. I do have a friend who would do that though.

We had a Sunday Lunch birthday party on Sunday, 7 of us 3 were non wine drinkers, I chose 2 bottles of Malbec to go with Lamb, topped off with Port, one couple did bring a bottle we will use that another time.
We always take a bottle to a party, after the 1st glass it’s usually help yourself, most parties are family affairs with all ages, so a wide range of tastes in drinks

It depends what sort of party it is. At family parties no one knows what you are drinking anyway so I would just put my gift on the drinks table and let people share.
However, I agree that this isn't really a gift for the host, but a contribution to the celebration.
I always say no gifts if I host a party, as there is nothing I need. I would much rather people brought something for eveyone to share and just have a good time.
People are different though, as this thread shows...