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April 13, 2011 7:36 AM   Subscribe

Please be my sommelier for an upcoming in-home catered dinner.

We are having a catered meal for six guests at my house for my father's birthday next week. I would appreciate some general wine recommendations that would pair nicely with the menu. I think we'll be enjoying three different wines over the meal, so if there are some wines that would pair nicely with more than one course, that would be optimal. I'm looking less for specific label/vintage recs, and more for general areas/types. I.e. "A Chilean malbec would go nicely with the pasta", not "94 La Range D'Oret with the pasta". I think that would make it easier to use the recommendations, given the differences in local availability of certain wines. Also, I could then likely apply the advice, regardless of our specific price range.

Here is the menu:

~Appetizer~ Seafood trilogy - Curried coconut mussels, roasted lemon and garlic prawn, and pan seared terragon and sparkling scallops
~Soup~ Pureed and roasted beet with dill, and creamy parsnip and ginger
~Pasta~ Butternut ravioli and sage brown butter with grana padano
~Salad~ Baby greens with a garlic, lemon and  honey, poppyseed dressing
~Entree~ Roasted Manitoba bison loin with red wine demi glace mushrooms,on a bed of cavena nuda
~Dessert~ Frozen citrus souflee

Any help graciously accepted!
posted by joelhunt to Food & Drink (11 answers total) 4 users marked this as a favorite
 
A round buttery red wine like a cabernet would go well with the pasta and entree
The app, soup, and salad would be great with a vino verde from Portugal or Argentina since it is light and acidic and would cut the soup's richness and the app's coconut cream and accent the crispness of the salad.
An ice wine from Canada would be great with dessert since the citrus will already be sharp and the ice wine will be smooth and sweet.
posted by rmless at 8:00 AM on April 13, 2011


I was actually going to recommend a Portuguese vinho verde to go with the salad, too. It's one of the few white wines I enjoy, and tastes wonderful with greens.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 8:04 AM on April 13, 2011


A Prosecco with Appetizers and dessert and a Rosso del Veronese (I especially like Masi Campofiorin, lately, since it is robust without a hint of tannin) with the pasta, salad and entree.
posted by francesca too at 8:07 AM on April 13, 2011


I think I would do a Viognier for #1 and #2. Definitely agree that Prosecco or Champagne would be lovely with the dessert.

I think the pasta would go nicely with a soft red Zinfandel (from Lodi or maybe Sonoma).

Frankly I think a good Zin could stand up to the main course also.
posted by pineapple at 8:26 AM on April 13, 2011


I would start with a txakolina, weird name, but delicious and light, perfect for pastas and seafoods.

Most of the reds mentioned would hold up with the bison, but I also would toss out there a nice Rioja would compliment it as well.

I'm partial to sherry or port for dessert.
posted by eggyolk at 8:32 AM on April 13, 2011


Coming in to second rmless with the vino verde, especially if the soup is as rich as it sounds. A prosecco would work too, but vino verde is a fun new (re: trendy, but not in a bad way) wine that offers something a tad tangier than Prosecco.
posted by slightly sissy tea hound at 9:25 AM on April 13, 2011


Agreeing with pineapple that Viognier would work well with 1 and 2, as would a pino grigio. Bison is pretty rich, so a Zin, a Malbec perhaps, or even a Cabernet would be a good match. Finally, for something as mild as a citrus souflee, I would say moscato d'asti. It's got a touch of sweetness which would pair nicely with the tartness of the citrus.
posted by Gilbert at 10:23 AM on April 13, 2011


~Appetizer~ Seafood trilogy - Curried coconut mussels, roasted lemon and garlic prawn, and pan seared terragon and sparkling scallops

Picpoul de Pinet. Second choice: vinho verde.

~Soup~ Pureed and roasted beet with dill, and creamy parsnip and ginger
~Pasta~ Butternut ravioli and sage brown butter with grana padano


Faugères; Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.

I
~Salad~ Baby greens with a garlic, lemon and honey, poppyseed dressing

No wine with the salad.

~Entree~ Roasted Manitoba bison loin with red wine demi glace mushrooms,on a bed of cavena nuda

California zinfandel or a big Malbec.

~Dessert~ Frozen citrus souflee

Tokaji 5 puttanyas.

Yup, I cheated.
posted by jet_silver at 2:06 PM on April 13, 2011


I like a vinho verde as much as the next person, but that wouldn't be my first choice for your menu. Unless you're planning to change wines with courses, an unoaked chardonnay would acquit itself very well throughout the meal, I'm thinking.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 4:37 PM on April 13, 2011


I think we'll be enjoying three different wines over the meal

Oops, missed that. Carry on.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 4:39 PM on April 13, 2011


Response by poster: Thanks to all for the suggestions. I'll be having some fun at the wine store, it would seem!
posted by joelhunt at 11:26 AM on April 14, 2011


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