Three Wines for Every Dinner
If you want a good selection of wines to take to any dinner but you don't know what people like, here are three bottles that should be quite acceptable to a broad spectrum of wine drinkers. They are also widely available.
This is based on availability in Kansas, so I have offered substitutes in all cases or in case your store doesn't carry the first choice.
The best part of this list is these wines are all under $10 per bottle. So take all three.
#1 Lindeman's Cabernet Merlot
This is a balanced red wine that is not so tannic and acidic that non-red wine drinkers won't like it, yet full bodied, fruity and flavorful enough to appeal to those who favor reds. Good with all kinds of meat and meat soups, bread and cheeses. Plus those who only order merlot will be inclined to try it since it's a merlot blend.
(sub Lindemans Shiraz Cabernet or Wolf Blass Shiraz Cabernet, Rosemount Grenache Shiraz even Ca'del Solo Big House Red.)
#2 Rosemount Estate Semillon Chardonnay
This is for the white wine drinkers who always order a chardonnay because it's the only wine other than merlot they know how to pronounce. It's also got enough oak and acidity and fruity balance to appeal to those who prefer white wines for those characteristics.
BTW, Semillon is pronounced many different ways: Say-meel-yohng, Say-mee-yoN (my preferred), or sem-ee-yon (easiest). Very good with white sauce pastas, cheeses.
(sub Lindemans Semillion Chardonnay, or possibly R.H. Phillips EXP Viognier (vee-ohn-yay), which I cannot link to due to their site design)
#3 Ironstone Vineyards "Obsession" Symphony
This is the wine for non-wine drinkers, or for the white zinfandel-only crowd. It has a little residual carbonation and hence is a little "sparkly" like a champagne, but it's barely noticeable and only there to help release the wonderful bouquet and aroma.
The bouquet is also very fruity (if a non-wine drinker doesn't want to try this based on smelling it alone, they won't like any wine) and yet not overly sweet. It finishes quite dry by comparison to other wines with so much fruit flavor and aroma. This is a characterstic of the (patended!) Symphony grape). Especially good with spicy food. This is my second favorite wine on the planet -- especially for hot weather -- and it's not very well known so it makes an impression. Don't be surprised if you need to take two bottles of this. This may be a little hard to find, because it's not in very high demand and Ironstone doesn't make a whole lot of it. In my wine circles, this is both the wine you don't want anyone to know about and at the same time the wine you want everyone to try.
(sub Ironstone Xpression which is a little sweeter and closer to a rose, or Ca' del Solo Big House Pink -- don't be fooled by screwcap)
I've owned a small vineyard, made wine and judged wine competitions, and drink my fair share of commercial and homemade wine as well. You can't go wrong with these three for any occasion.
(Footnote: I noticed most wine sites have you pick both your Country and enter your age before entering their site. If the deep links above don't work, it's their fault, not mine.)
This is based on availability in Kansas, so I have offered substitutes in all cases or in case your store doesn't carry the first choice.
The best part of this list is these wines are all under $10 per bottle. So take all three.
#1 Lindeman's Cabernet Merlot
This is a balanced red wine that is not so tannic and acidic that non-red wine drinkers won't like it, yet full bodied, fruity and flavorful enough to appeal to those who favor reds. Good with all kinds of meat and meat soups, bread and cheeses. Plus those who only order merlot will be inclined to try it since it's a merlot blend.
(sub Lindemans Shiraz Cabernet or Wolf Blass Shiraz Cabernet, Rosemount Grenache Shiraz even Ca'del Solo Big House Red.)
#2 Rosemount Estate Semillon Chardonnay
This is for the white wine drinkers who always order a chardonnay because it's the only wine other than merlot they know how to pronounce. It's also got enough oak and acidity and fruity balance to appeal to those who prefer white wines for those characteristics.
BTW, Semillon is pronounced many different ways: Say-meel-yohng, Say-mee-yoN (my preferred), or sem-ee-yon (easiest). Very good with white sauce pastas, cheeses.
(sub Lindemans Semillion Chardonnay, or possibly R.H. Phillips EXP Viognier (vee-ohn-yay), which I cannot link to due to their site design)
#3 Ironstone Vineyards "Obsession" Symphony
This is the wine for non-wine drinkers, or for the white zinfandel-only crowd. It has a little residual carbonation and hence is a little "sparkly" like a champagne, but it's barely noticeable and only there to help release the wonderful bouquet and aroma.
The bouquet is also very fruity (if a non-wine drinker doesn't want to try this based on smelling it alone, they won't like any wine) and yet not overly sweet. It finishes quite dry by comparison to other wines with so much fruit flavor and aroma. This is a characterstic of the (patended!) Symphony grape). Especially good with spicy food. This is my second favorite wine on the planet -- especially for hot weather -- and it's not very well known so it makes an impression. Don't be surprised if you need to take two bottles of this. This may be a little hard to find, because it's not in very high demand and Ironstone doesn't make a whole lot of it. In my wine circles, this is both the wine you don't want anyone to know about and at the same time the wine you want everyone to try.
(sub Ironstone Xpression which is a little sweeter and closer to a rose, or Ca' del Solo Big House Pink -- don't be fooled by screwcap)
I've owned a small vineyard, made wine and judged wine competitions, and drink my fair share of commercial and homemade wine as well. You can't go wrong with these three for any occasion.
(Footnote: I noticed most wine sites have you pick both your Country and enter your age before entering their site. If the deep links above don't work, it's their fault, not mine.)
posted by Rob at 6:06 AM
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