My dear friend and I are hosting a formal dinner party, some time next spring. We've planned our courses, and the general direction we want to go with our wines, but both of us are young, and admittedly inexperienced in the field.

Here are our courses, and the wine types we have considered for them:

Appetizer:
garlic stuffed mushrooms
Grilled egplant with creamy pesto
Steamed artichoke leaves with crab and brie salsa

We had considered a medium Reisling or perhaps a dryish Chardonnay to set off the rich and herbal flavours in our appetizer plates, and we would love your suggestions. Keep in mind we are both college students, so a price range not exceeding $20 would be best.

Main course:
Roast venison with balsamic glaze
spinach stuffed baked tomato with feta
and a rich, doughy french bread

I suggested a Shiraz/Syrah to compliment the richness of the venison and richness and tanginess of the tomato. I also thought a burgundy might go well, here. (I just happen to be deeply in love with shiraz)

Dessert:
Creme brulle
raspberry sorbet
and a fresh strawberry with cream crepe

We both decided that, to cut the rich, sweet overtones of both the crepe and the creme brulle, a lively sparkling wine would be our best bet. We came to the conclusion that a brut would be our favourite option.


So, there is our meal, and our selections of wines, but we would love your input, as we are very new at this game of wine selection.

-CJ Maciejeski
New, young, but willing to learn. The best compliment to a great meal is the perfect wine, after all.

Appetizer:
I would think a lighter red would compliment the earthiness of your veggies (mushrooms and eggplant) better than a white (but hey, I enjoy reds more than whites). Maybe a beaujolais or dolcetto... you should be able to find a bunch of good ones for under $20.

Main course:
Any BIG, BOLD red would be fine. If you love Shiraz... then go for it!!!

Dessert:

NO!!! Bad idea w/ the brut. Do yourself a favor a find a good Muscat or late harvest Riesling or Gewurztraminer... any would match your desert choices perfectly!!!

Oooh, I really liek the suggestions! I hadn't thought of a Beujolais, but now that you mention it, yes, that would be nice....

As for the dessert wine, many thanks. Dessert was rather a quandry for us. I do like the idea of the reisling....

Anyway, thanks much, and I look forward to other suggestions.

-CJ Maciejeski
New, young, but willing to learn. The best compliment to a great meal is the perfect wine, after all.

Definitely stick with Australia for a good Shiraz under $20 -- plenty to choose from! I like Australia in general for great values & even better on a college student budget.

Also, FYI 'cause I'm not sure if you came across it -- if you want to investigate some matching suggestions, there's a search feature that I'm often using when I'm stumped:

WS Food/wine pairing search

use demi-sec with desert.
Rose with appetizers.

first course: a light red is my recommendation also but only on account of the mushrooms. As a stand alone I would recommend a Pinot Noir, but the problem is the follow up with the creamy pesto and the artichokes. It seems to run somewhat uneven. With creamy pesto I would pick something like a light chard (depending on the presence of pine nuts in the pesto - a must in my opinion) or the spinach in the pesto matching the artichoke's call for a nice sauvignon blanc. To find a good pairing that will work with all three would be a stoke of genius.

second course: Spanish Rioja. Without a doubt my favorite combination with the venison. It stands well as a compliment and help cut the acidity of the tomatoes to follow.

third course: Moscato, slightly sparkling is the only logical option.

ALL OPINIONS THOUGH.

quote:

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Appetizer:
garlic stuffed mushrooms
Grilled egplant with creamy pesto
Steamed artichoke leaves with crab and brie salsa

We had considered a medium Reisling or perhaps a dryish Chardonnay to set off the rich and herbal flavours in our appetizer plates, and we would love your suggestions. Keep in mind we are both college students, so a price range not exceeding $20 would be best.

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I'd go with a Sauvignon Blanc. Riesling would have too much fruit and would overpower the food.

quote:

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Main course:
Roast venison with balsamic glaze
spinach stuffed baked tomato with feta
and a rich, doughy french bread

I suggested a Shiraz/Syrah to compliment the richness of the venison and richness and tanginess of the tomato. I also thought a burgundy might go well, here. (I just happen to be deeply in love with shiraz)

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I'd do a Cal Cab or a Spanish Tempranillo.

quote:

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Dessert:
Creme brulle
raspberry sorbet
and a fresh strawberry with cream crepe

We both decided that, to cut the rich, sweet overtones of both the crepe and the creme brulle, a lively sparkling wine would be our best bet. We came to the conclusion that a brut would be our favourite option.

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Oloroso Sherry would work.
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quote:

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Appetizer:
garlic stuffed mushrooms
Grilled egplant with creamy pesto
Steamed artichoke leaves with crab and brie salsa

We had considered a medium Reisling or perhaps a dryish Chardonnay to set off the rich and herbal flavours in our appetizer plates, and we would love your suggestions. Keep in mind we are both college students, so a price range not exceeding $20 would be best.

---

Personally, I would go for a good Tokay-Pinot-Gris (Pinot Gris from Alsace) Martin Schaetzel should be easily findable for under $20/bottle. I do like your Riesling idea, but I would also consider a Gewurtztraminer from Alsace. Paul Blank and Trimabch could work. Even Baccharis and Navarro from CA could work. Some Austrians might work (as ight some halbtrocken or trocken Germans) but I would not leave the Alsace/German/Austrian motif unless I had to.

quote:

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Main course:
Roast venison with balsamic glaze
spinach stuffed baked tomato with feta
and a rich, doughy french bread

I suggested a Shiraz/Syrah to compliment the richness of the venison and richness and tanginess of the tomato. I also thought a burgundy might go well, here. (I just happen to be deeply in love with shiraz)

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Again, I like your choice of grape. Personally, I would tend to serve a Northern Rhone with Venison, however, I think many of those might wind up over $20/bottle. I've tired of Aussie wines and I no longer find most compelling (but I recognize that is mostly a personal opinion and not one to be taken fully into account). I would consider a CA Zin or a Southern Rhone here. Specifically, I like the 2002 Rosenblum Continente Zin (and, for less money, the 2002 Seghesio Sonoma Zin isn't bad, either). You can still find many nice '00 and '01 Gigondas on the shelf in the $20 price range.

quote:

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Dessert:
Creme brulle
raspberry sorbet
and a fresh strawberry with cream crepe

We both decided that, to cut the rich, sweet overtones of both the crepe and the creme brulle, a lively sparkling wine would be our best bet. We came to the conclusion that a brut would be our favourite option.

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I have to dissagree with your conclusion, here. It has been my experience that pairing a dry wine with rich food harms the flavor of the food a little, but completely undermines the flavor of the wine. I do think you might enjoy a sparkler here, but, if so, I would go with a great Moscato d'Asti, virtually all of which are in your price range.

let us know how your dinner turns out!

a

"What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch?" -- W.C. Fields

After reading others' suggestions, while I still don't think an SB is the best choice for the first course, I must concur that a Rioja would also make a fine choice for a pairing with the Venison. Check out Sierra Cantabria and Muga for well priced, very nice Riojas.

a

"What contemptible scoundrel stole the cork from my lunch?" -- W.C. Fields

quote:

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Originally posted by mwagner7700:
_Appetizer:_
I would think a lighter red would compliment the earthiness of your veggies (mushrooms and eggplant) better than a white (but hey, I enjoy reds more than whites). Maybe a beaujolais or dolcetto... you should be able to find a bunch of good ones for under $20.

_Main course:_
Any BIG, BOLD red would be fine. If you love Shiraz... then go for it!!!

_Dessert:_

NO!!! Bad idea w/ the brut. Do yourself a favor a find a good Muscat or late harvest Riesling or Gewurztraminer... any would match your desert choices perfectly!!!

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DITTO....except for the Gewurztraminer; just my preference.

How about:

"You're a really nice meal - you look so good I could eat you".

"Life! Life: it's not what I thought it was"