Your fave wine with your fave food, and why

[Steve Foss]

While I tend to like tart cold white wines like Chardonnays and somewhat robust red wines like Cabernet Sauvignons and Shirazes, perhaps my favorite food/wine combo of all involves grilled or broiled lake trout with a smooth Merlot. The earthy richness of the Merlot seems to open up the flavors of the fish to the maximum, and since lake trout is hearty rather then light, it seems a good match. Best ever was a smoky Merlot (I forget the winery and year) accompanying grilled laker drenched with a sauce of fresh morels sauteed in unsalted butter and red cooking wine. I recently had a Smoking Loon Pinot Noir that would have gone wonderfully with the same meal.

For affordable Merlots that are smooth (some wineries produce Merlots with more tannins, thus more "punch"), I really like Black Swan from southeast Austrailia. My wife likes a red with a bit more sweetness, and has fallen in love with a Makulu wine from the western cape of South Africa (variety is Iswithi Pinotage). Yeah, you can get it in Ely.

For a good ole USA wine, Sutter Home's affordable Merlot is a bit more sharp, but also quite nice.

Thoughts?

[HNTNBUX]

I don't experiment much with wine but my favorites are Bogle and Sterling Vintner. You are way past my level of defining the flavor of the wine but I know these taste good to me.

[Steve Foss]

You are way past my level of defining the flavor of the wine but I know these taste good to me.

Not at all. Bottom line is that if you like wine, and you find a wine that suits you and the foods you like, you have everything you need. The world is too full of wine snobs and not full enough of people who just enjoy wine.

In the end, when I name wineries and varietal grapes and such, there's a certain amount of knowledge implied (I won't recommend a wine I haven't sampled myself, and I am no wine "expert"), but it boils down to what you like and don't like, and why. No different from beers, in that sense, or football teams, or fishing lures. We all experiment with all of them and find our favorites over time.

Thanks, HNTBUX, for sharing yours.

[stoneeyes317]

My wife and I are quite settled on Atteca, a red wine from Spain made with grenache grapes, and a California Chardonnay from Cambria, Kate's Vineyard. We also like Montes Malbec from Argentina, but it has become hard to find here.

The reds are full bodied yet have a smooth finish. The Atteca has a bit more spice, in my opinion. The Chardonnay has good flavor without being too sweet/fruity (again IMO)...

eyes317

[bullyfish]

A deep cabernet with a slice of chocolate truffle cake....does crazy things to me!

[bullyfish]

And a new "white" I really like in the summer with lighter foods. Crios Torrontes..Love this with any sea food on the grill!! Nice, crisp....a "fun" wine :-) and at about $12-15 a bottle...buy a few bottles and share!

[Yellowhead]

Toad Hollow Merlot reserve when I can find it. Lately I've been drinking some of the great Chianti Classicos. It goes very well with a steak right off the grill.

When it comes to whites I prefer German whites. For some thing really special try one of their Christmas whites.It is only made from grapes left on the vine until there has been a hard freeze. This concentrates the sugars and makes a wonderfull dessert wine.

[Kidd]

Some Two Buck Chuck with pan seared Musky. To die for.

[Chef]

If you can get Castle Rock Pinot Noir (9-10 dollars) this is great as an "across the food spectrum" wine. Not too heavy, so it works with fish and meats. based on your comments, it's a natural fit for your tastes.

Louis Martini Cabernet is about the best one under 15.00 I've had in a long time. J Lohr 7 Oaks, Bogle Syrah, Catena Malbec, Red Rock Merlot are all great for under $15.00 a bottle, less when their on sale.

White--try a Prosecco for a change of pace if you like bubbles. Fume Balnc is good for a change from the heavier (butter/Oak) Chardonnay's.

[fishorgolf]

"I am not drinking f______ merlot" One of the best lines ever. From the movie sideways.

seriously though if I had to pick one wine it would have to be Pinot Noir. There are so many good Pinots out there right now that run from light and fruity to robust. One of my favorites in the robust catagory would be a "Sinsky" or maybe a "David Bruce" spendy but oh so good. I would say one of my favorite meals would be a nice medium bodied Pinot with rare lamb chops a side on buttered new potatoes and fresh field greens salad w/goat cheese.

[Chef]

Bullseye! That sounds like a great meal...I'm hoping for fresh Venison Chops next month!

[Black_Bay]

There's nothing like a great can of wine with Johnsonville brats.

[nofishfisherman]

Ever since going to Spain a few years ago I've really started going for Tempranillo.

The best wine and food combination I've ever had was at a small local bar in a small spanish town a couple hours south of Madrid. In Spain when you order a drink you get a free tapas plate of food to go with it. The more expensive your drink the better the plate of food you get.

A friend who is a local there and I each had a glass of Tempranillo that they brought out with a huge plate of Crayfish in a light tomato sauce as our free tapas. It was amazing how good the wine and crayfish were.

The big plate of crayfish was there best free tapas that you got for ordering one of the most expensive wines. I think we paid like 2-3 euros for each glass. At the time that came out to about $3-4 US. Needless to say I packed my suit cases full of wine on the way home. I think we bought 8 bottles for less then $20.