With the holidays upon us, my editor asked me to serve up some wine tips on what to drink and serve over the next couple of months at the various holidays and social gatherings.

Question: What wine should I serve at Thanksgiving?

Answer: This is the question that has given party hosts sleepless nights since the Mayflower. There is still no clear answer. Recommendations will vary from a high-acid reisling that can cut through a plethora of foods to Zinfandel because it's American, and even to Beaujolais because it's light and fruity.

I say Prosecco because it's relatively inexpensive, light, effervescent and low in alcohol, which means you can start drinking it early in the day and it won't get you too tipsy over a long day of eating.

Or a simpler way to look at it — Prosecco is so damned appealing it doesn't need your full attention to be enjoyed.

There really is no one wine that is going to cut through all the combinations of sweet and savory foods on the table, so find something you like and stick with it all day. For me it will be Prosecco.

Question: What should I bring to a host's house?

Answer: The first question should be, did you ask your host if you could bring wine? If your host said no, then by all means bring a bottle, anyway — but expect that it will be received as a gift for later drinking. Don't expect your wine to be opened that night if the host says he or she has the wine already planned.

But if your host said yes to bringing wine, then you are correct to assume that the wine you bring will be opened that night. In this case, you are in the position to politely ask your host what is being served. Ask your host if there's a wine theme going already.

If not, you could make a couple of wine suggestions for the meal; then, ask the host if any of them sound enticing. If there is a multicourse meal planned, you could suggest a bottle for one of the courses. Also, I find that wine at a dinner party is definitely one of those areas where bigger is better, so if you have magnum of a wine that will work, your gift will have a greater impact.

Another suggestion: I find that oftentimes dessert wines are not thought about and therefore are a welcome addition.

Question: What wine should I serve at a large holiday party?

Answer: Pick a nice wine theme that won't break the bank. If you have 50 of your closest friends coming over for a Sunday afternoon, don't reach deep into your cellar and pull out your most prized bottles.

Do you really want to see your aunt slam down a glass of your favorite old Bordeaux over a glass of ice mixed with soda water? For a large gathering, I like a wine theme that will be fun but not expensive. For my larger gatherings, I like to put out one roast or one pot of food that everyone can nibble on over the course of the afternoon. I select a wine theme and lay out a dozen or so different bottles that fit the theme.

It can be a grape theme — Napa cabernet, Oregon pinot noir or Sonoma zinfandel — showing six producers of the same grape from the same region. Or, you could plan a taste-off of the same grape from different regions, showing pinot noir from California, Oregon, New Zealand and Burgundy. But whatever you do, make it simple; leave the bottles out and open on a sidebar in a suggested drinking sequence.

Give each guest one glass to use for the day. I use a washable Sharpie pen and put the initials of the guest on the base of the glass before handing it to them.

But remember, wine is fire. Too much of it and you will get scorched. You want a controlled burn. Make sure there is enough food when you have this many wines open. Italians have an expression — they never say someone is drunk, they only say that someone hasn't eaten enough.

Question: What wine should I serve during a special holiday dinner with just a few close friends?

Answer: Now it is time to dig deep. Even if you can't afford it, there is an obligation to go all out on wine for such special meals. While I believe that any wine, cheap or expensive, can be made special by the context of who you share it with, if there ever is a time to bring out the big guns to guarantee a memorable time, this is it. A perfectly roasted duck on Christmas Eve with your best cutlery laid out on your best linens deserves a wine worthy of the occasion.

Could there be anything more compelling, sensual and satisfying than a silky and evocative red Burgundy poured gently in the largest pinot glass you have?

Or, if it's stone crab claws or butter-poached lobster for your holiday meal, stick with Burgundy and pull out a special Pemier Cru or Grand Cru white Burgundy, the planet's best expression of the chardonnay grape.

If it's prime rib for an intimate holiday meal, it's time for a special bottle of Bordeaux or Napa cabernet sauvignon.

But, whatever you do over the holidays, drink well. And drink responsibly.

Greg O'Byrne is executive director of the Santa Fe Wine & Chile Fiesta. His column appears on the third Wednesday of every month. Contact O'Byrne at vinevents@aol.com.