Basic Wine Guide
The label on the wine bottle says " Great with Chicken". Is that Cordon Bleu or KFC? Basic rules, red wine with red meat and white with chicken. But that is no
t true in all cases. The most important ideas of wine pairing are the seasonings and how it was cooked. It has a fruity sauce, then any grape wine that has like characteristics. If hotter, bbq or with chili, a fruity and sweet white will calm down effects. Slow cooked meals are better paired with gentle mature reds. Charbroiled steaks team better with younger and vibrant fruity wines. As for the "old rule" be different try a Chardonnay with your steak, or Pinot Noir with Salmon.
Need a bottle of wine for a gift? An idea would be to pair or match that wine to cheese. Try to find out, what wines they like or what cheese. One combination is Asti Spumante with Swiss. Another is mild Cheddar with Chardonnay. If they like full bodied cheese, like 4 year Cheddar or Blue, it is a Cabernet.
Hint: Buy a couple of wines, then 4 different chunks of cheeses, cut into small bites on plate with toothpicks, asks guests what cheese, they like with that wine.
ie: sharp chedder, baby swiss, mild brick, pepper jack. Could use colby or co-jack both are forms of mild chedder.
With Our Favorite BBQ Pork - Menage A Trois, a red at $9.99
With Roast Pork it is- Chateau Ste. Michelle- Chardonnay at $9.99
Wine enthusiasts and experts generally use a scale that ranges from 65-100. Broken down, this is what the ratings mean:
- Less than 84: Not worth drinking. Giving this bottle as a gift will make you look bad.
84-86: A pretty weak wine. If it's the only thing at a party, you'll drink it,
but it isn't something you'll buy on your own.87-89: If the wine is less than $15, it's pretty good. Don't spend any more than $15 on it, though.
90-91: Overall a good experience. An enjoyable wine.
92-93: Very good. Not exceptionally good, but it's something that is definitely worth buying.
94-96: An exceptional wine. This is a wine that people will talk about a week after drinking it, and will remember fondly for months.
97-100: Incredible. One of the best experiences you have ever had, one that is truly unforgettable.
When you go to buy wine, go to the store prepared with a list of several wines and their corresponding ratings. If saving money is something that you're interested in, choose the lowest priced with the highest acceptable rating.
So You Are Going To Have A Party.
When you are entertaining, you need to provide more wines than just those that you enjoy. You need to provide a range of wine for every palate when you entertain. You will need to provide white wine even if you prefer red. If all you ever drink is white, you should still
provide red for your guests.
Not only should you provide both red and white, you should provide a full spectrum of red and a full spectrum of white. From sweet white wines to bold, dry red wines, you have several varietals from which to choose for every type of red or white wine.
For white wine selections, you will want to be sure to include a dry white selection as well as a fruity white selection. To appease the sweeter palate, you should probably purchase a Chablis or Chenin Blanc and to appease the more tart palate, you could purchase Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.
Your red wine selections will be as varied as your white wine selections. For a fruitier palate, you will want to choose lighter reds such as Pinot Noir and for your guests with a palate for tart dry reds; you will want to purchase Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Shiraz or Chianti.
With such a wide variety of wines, you will also need to know how much of each type of wine to serve when you entertain. As a rule, if the majority of your guests are new to wine drinking, you would probably be better off to purchase more sweet or fruity whites and reds and only a few of the drier, tart reds and whites. Conversely, if you are entertaining experienced wine drinkers, you will probably only purchase a few sweet whites and reds and several dry varietals.
Of course, knowing how much wine to purchase overall can be a daunting task. You can never definitely know how much a crowd will drink, but you can make a fair estimation. You know your guests better than anyone does, but most crowds are comprised of non-drinkers, beer drinkers and wine drinkers.
In fact, at most parties, about half of the people in attendance drink win
e. These wine drinkers usually have two glasses each, though some people quit with one glass and other people drink three or four glasses. In the end, though, you can count on an average of two glasses per person that is drinking wine.
Because only half of the people at your party will be drinking wine, you can safely say that you need to provide one glass of wine per person who attends. However, if you are like most people, you will prefer to err on the side of over abundance and provide one and a half glasses of wine per person.
When serving wine at parties, you usually serve five 5-ounce glasses from each bottle, so if you are going to have 20 guests, you should count on 30 glasses of wine, which divided by five, is six bottles of wine.
This estimate is for a dinner or cocktail party. Type of party and duration will effect the totals.
For Larger Parties
Boxed wines have to be the way to go. We have a good variety for all tastes. Maybe add a box of Franzia Merlot, even if your not planning to serve wine with your pig roast.
