Wine suggestions?

[kdibattista]

It's my first Christmas hosting and although I do enjoy a glass of wine here and there, I have no idea what a good wine is when it comes to pairing with meals.

We are having an Italian first course and beef tenderloin with a horseradish cream sauce, roasted potatoes and broccoli for the main course.

Any suggestions for a good wine(s)?

 

[ducklite]

Well, champagne goes with EVERYTHING! Mumms Brut is pretty reasonable. Vueve CLiquot is more but better. Perrier Jouet Grand Brut seems to be on sale in a lot of places right now, and is better yet.

If you want something other than champagne, a good red. A merlot is fruitier than a cab or Shiraz, but still dry enough to worrk with the beef, and merlot goes great with Italian. Chateau Ste. Michelle has a great merlot at a remarkably reasonable price. Rodney Strong is another good merlot at a reasonable price (both are under $20)

A cab would be perfect with the beef but maybe a bit over powering for the pasta. Lindemann's is a bit fruitier than many of the cabs, Coppala's Black Diamond is EXCELLENT and costs in the low $20's for a bottle.

Anne

 

[ducklite]

BTW--Sounds great--can I come? I'll bring the wine!

Anne

 

[kdibattista]

 

[kdibattista]

BTW--Sounds great--can I come? I'll bring the wine!

Anne

Dessert too and you got a deal

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I personally don't like red wine, but a rule of thumb I use is: dark meat, dark wine.

I drink Chardonnay. My favorite is Turning Leaf. I like to try new wines and picked it because it won some award. I can't remember which one, but they were right!

Best yet, a bottle is usually under $10. Maybe their reds are just as good?

 

[Enchanted Tiki Bird]

One thing to remember is that you don't have to break the bank to serve a nice wine that is appropriately paired to your meal. My two recommendation would be:

Chateau de Pez 2003 - This is a French Bordeaux that I think would go really well with the beef tenderloin. It's full-bodied but with a sweet finish. It runs around $35 a bottle.

It might be a little too meaty for your first course but not necessarily. I need more information about it. You said it's Italian. Is it pasta?

You might want to think about getting some cheap-ish port as well to serve with dessert. Port goes very well with dark chocolate.