Wine Experts - Can you recommend one?
 

Going to a dinner party and want to take something that will compliment what they're serving. It's something like shrimp with polenta and some vegetables. I obviously don't have all the details and am wondering if I should just take some grappa.

Take a bottle of 1986 White Bukkake.
French.

1995 Chateau St. Michelle Cabernet (if you're looking for a red).

thanks, frank.

i can only find Mickey's "Bottle O'Bukkake?" in L.A. so I guess I'll go with the cabernet.

I'm far from an expert, but it is my understanding that in general, 95 was a good year for domestic, west coast reds.

I don?t know whether you live near a Trader Joes or not, but the TJ brand of merlot and cab are very good...and much less expensive than you will find elsewhere for similar wines

I am not sure whether you want to take a TJ label bottle to a dinner party or not, tho...

Trader Joes?
That guy is a terrorist.

Go Bukkake.
When The bitches go Bukkake, they never go back.

there are a ton of great recomendations that i'm sure we could make but so many of them might be hard for you to find at your local grocery store...

you really cant go wrong with kendall jackson chards... la crema is always good as well... pretty much any year.

just stay away from the boxed stuff, act like you know your shit and nobody will be the wiser ;-)

Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Merlot are some of the easiest drinking reds and go with most meals as well as being reasonably priced.

St. Emilion Bordeaux or any red French Bordeaux can usually be found for 10 or 15 bucks. You can spend a lot more but they are all just fermented grape juice...

Thunder Bird :thumbsup

yea...or a bottle or 10 of Strawberry Hill :Graucho

dunwood

You don't say whether the people doing this are experienced wine drinkers, so I'll assume not. I'd go with a white because its a seafood dish, and Pine Ridge's Vigonier/Chenin Blanc blend is about as easy drinking and friendly as white wine gets. Serve slightly chilled.

More than a few of the wine people I know use it to introduce non-drinkers to white wines and/or use it as their house white. Very easy to drink alot of, and also cheap. Should be around $10 a bottle.

:glugglug

Nobody mentioned my favorite! A red zinfandel! (not that pink bubbly shit you feed college girls).

A red zin can go with anything (or almost) :)

For whites, I dont like em. Maybe I only like gewurtzraminer (sp?) cuz it is sweet :P

Most whites make my teeth hurt the next day

And I almost forgot - malbec's. Argentinian Malbecs are great - I have yet to taste one that I didnt thoroughly enjoy.

I'm allergic to wine so I don't have to fake knowing anything about it. But I do want to get something that goes well with the dinner. I'm in Los Angeles so it's pretty easy to find a wide variety of stuff.

Thanks for all the great suggestions.

red wine to shrimp :(

Actually, some reds go excellent with seafood. Also depends on your personal pref I guess but I find seafood that is spicey or meaty (like ahi or somesuch) is better complemented by a red zin then any white wines.

But it all boils down to what you like I think man :)

and no, I dont really know anything about wines - I havent studied the subject in any way other then going to the liquor store and buying some wines and tasting :)

. grrr. stupid double posts

Hey Sunshine ... White with white meats is the rule of thumb (Poultry and pork only) ... for Seafod, a Merlot is prolly best ... and something a little heavier with red meat.

HAPPY DRINKING !! :Graucho

Rose-Crans :1orglaugh

I bet you live right off the shores of the Bar Berry Coast! Hahahaha

Where did these 'rules of thumb' come from?! They are almost te opposite of what is generally recommended. Sommeliers are taught to recommend sauvignon blanc, pinot x (blanc, gris), and chardonnay based wines for most seafood dishes. With bolder tasting seafood dishes such as grilled salmon there is some overlap with reds, but even then pinot noir or gamay based wines are recommended, not merlot.

Same thing with white meats = white wine. Absolutely not true. There are *very* few white wines (only the most concentrated chadonnays) that will work with chicken and pork dishes. Merlot, however, goes well with both.

Okay I admit that I am secretly hoping there will be a big fight over wine in this thread so it can rival that hun vs. drawnsex thing. I can see it now: lengthy flame wars about california merlot and people getting banned for talking about wine in a box.

The bottle I just knocked off wasn't bad...
Glaetzer "The Bishop" - 1999 Shiraz Barossa Valley, Aust

fickin' luvvally..

:drinkup

my favorite all-purpose dinner wine is a Barolo. it's got a perfect mix of body and softness.

French wine is so overrated piss....there was a time when French
wine was it.....but that time has gone for quite some time already.

South Africa, Australia, Argentina, Chile and Spanish wines are
a lot better.....and are a lot cheaper.....Try the Spanish Mugah
for example 92, 96 were great wine years in Spains....you really
can't go wrong picking any Rioja from those years

DynaMite :thumbsup

What's the word?

THUNDERBIRD!

What's the price?

A DOLLAR TWICE!

Spanish wine is OK, Chile not bad, but French will be always "the best", yes most French wine in US is low quality and overpriced - but you need to know what to choose.
Believe DynaMite - my main business right now is wine import/export and I have in my portfolio wine from France, Spain, Chile, Portugal, Israel... etc.
:)