Skip to main content

14 replies

What red to pair with ham?

M mitpradikatMember
I've been elected to bring wine to Easter dinner at my in-laws. Each year, they make a ham with a sweet glaze, and usually several side dishes that typically pair well with an off-dry white. In the past I have brought German rieslings and new world Gewurztraminers.

This year, with hardly any white wines at all in my cellar but lots of reds that need drinking, I really want to bring a red. Trouble is my in-laws don't like pinot noir, nor gamay. I have no roses.

I was thinking that a 2004 Chapoutier La Bernardine Chateauneuf du Pape would be a brave pairing. Or maybe 2007 Luca Syrah from Argentina?

Any suggestions?
Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

winetarelliwinetarelliMember
quote:
Any suggestions?

Yes. Bring an off-dry white.

I don't mean to be obnoxious, but your instincts here are exactly correct, a sweeter ham calls for Alsace/Germany/Austria, and if you needed to bring a red, Pinot and Gamay would be the options.

I suppose modern Barbera, Nero d'Avola, and Toro could all work due to their overt frutiness matched with high acidity. An Etna Rosso might work though someone who likes neither Pinot Noir nor Gamay is unlikely to go for that.

But really, your instincts on this were right.
Last edited by winetarelli
T thirstymanMember
quote:
Originally posted by wine+art:
quote:
Originally posted by winetarelli:
quote:
Originally posted by wine+art:
If I were King, I would never eat ham again!

I do enjoy Rose' in the summer a great deal. Smile

Well, I'd eat it by other names... pancetta, priscutto, serano...


Do not confuse those with an Easter ham. Wink


hams that come out of a can are not hams. They are similar to SPAM. Try a nice fresh ham slow smoked for a few hours (my favorite is to put a venison haunch underneath it in the smoker).... mmmmm. Making myself hungry...

Gigond Ass is right - properly smoked country ham is a beautiful thing and one of my favorite hangover remedies...
M mitpradikatMember
quote:
Originally posted by spo:
How does the Gewurz go over with your family. I have not had a lot of them but don't think of them as crowd pleasers.


As it turns out, neither the ham nor the side dishes had much sweetness at all this year. I went with a slightly off dry Alsatian gewurtz, but I could have gone with any aromatic white. I went with a 2006 Domaine Weinbach Cuvee Theo Gewurtztraminer. Everyone liked it, and I think it did go very well with the meal. The spiciness in the wine complemented the spices from the ham. I'm glad I didn't go with a very sweet wine like the Auslese I almost brought.

No formal tasting notes were done (I don't bother if I don't have adequate stemware to assess the nose).

Add Reply

Post

Membership Required

We're sorry. You must be signed in to continue. Sign In or Register
×
Are you sure you want to remove from your Block List?
×
Loading...
×
When you block a person, they can no longer invite you to a private message or post to your profile wall. Replies and comments they make will be collapsed/hidden by default. Finally, you'll never receive email notifications about content they create or likes they designate for your content.
Note: if you proceed, you will no longer be following .
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×