Should you opt for bringing wine (a perfectly lovely hostess gift) to one or more of the holiday parties you attend this year, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

1) Don’t expect them to serve it.

A host is not required to open a bottle that a guest brings as a gift to a party — especially if they have already gone to great lengths to pair wine to their menu. A guest should never be upset if the wine is not served right away.

I did get a chuckle out of  Lettie Teague’s column in the December issue of Food & Wine (her columns are always so fun to read), in which she says she is generally disappointed when hosts don’t open the bottles she brings. (Note: If Lettie Teague ever brought a bottle of wine to my house, you can be darn sure I’d open it on the spot!)

Ms. Teague came up a with a few clever wine-giving strategies, some of which she specifically designed to help ensure the hosts opens the bottle:

• Bring champagne — it’s such a celebratory beverage and its easy for a host to re-gift (not a horrible thing!)
• Select a wine with broad appeal — like Pinot Noir from California, Oregon, France or Argentina
• Tell them in advance – let your guests know if you plan to bring a very special bottle and always ask what they are serving to make sure the wine will complement the menu
• Present the wine ready to serve — chill the champagne or a white in advance if that is what you are bringing
• Bring a magnum — a large bottle “demands to be shared,” says Lettie. And what host would be so greedy as to not open such a generous bottle!

2) Transport it carefully

Keep the wine at the proper temperature and protect it from breaking when you transport it by carrying it in an insulated wine tote. I like this one:

Built NY Double Wine Bottle Carrier, available from WineStuff.com

3) Presentation is key

It’s a gift right? So why not make it pretty?!

There are so many fabulous wine gift bags out there these days, you may just want to stock up on a few and keep them on hand for gift giving.

"Cheers" wine gift bag, available from The Craft Pantry on Etsy

Solo Felt Wine Bag, available at www.bambeco.com

organza wine bags from Gumps

Built NY Fishnet One-Bottle Wine Tote available from Ecobags

Modern Red Dot Wine Bag from Etsy's Space Moderne

One practice I’ve taken up is being conscious of how many shopping bags I use.

At stores, I try to not have my merchandise bagged unless I really need one. The shopping bags I do get I store at home and reuse for other purposes.

When at the grocery store, I never bag my produce separately in the produce department (it seems such a waste when I will just get home, take the produce out of the bags to store it, and throw the bags away).

Also, I make it a practice to bring reusable shopping bags to the grocery store. I try to leave some in my car so I never arrive at the store without one.

Reusable bags are easy to find these days and almost all of the grocery stores sell their own branded styles.

But why not be chic when shopping? I love the shopper bags by See by Chloe. There are several styles available at Bloomingdale’s and other department stores, but I love this particular one.

See by Chloe Best Ever Big Shopping Bag - available at Bloomingdale's

So celebrate this Earth Day by going shopping in style — eco-chic style!