Wine pairings?

Thought I'd start a thread about particular wine pairings - questions you have, or maybe you already are a pro at this and have some suggestions for random dishes and their wine companions already!

 

K, so tonight we're making Chicken Stir Fry with a Honey Teriyaki Sauce. I've got a Kim Crawford Sauvingon Blanc chilling in the wine fridge and a little bit of Palmina Malvasia Bianca left.

 

I'm actually kinda craving red tho... any reds that would match up or is a white better? Suggestions on both appreciated!!!

Sweet Foods like Italian tomato sauce, Japanese teriyaki, and honey-mustard glazes make your wine seem drier than it really is so try an off-dry (slightly sweet) wine to balance the flavor (Riesling, Honey Wine, and Raspberry Wine).

 

Your Kim Crawford should be great with your meal. I love that SB!

 

For a red, you need something that is going to be fruit-forward, so a New World style red instead of an Old World style. If there is a fruit forward California red that you like, without super tannins, try that.

 

A Pinot Noir is going to be fruit forward, but you need a medium to full-bodied one. A lighter one will taste like water.

 

Perhaps a Merlot that's not too dry would be nice as well.

 

Hope that helps!

Tami - yay, I was really hoping you'd chime in!!! Thanks!!!

 

Maybe we will do the Kim Crawford since we already have it...

 

Just in case we do go red - we're not big Pinot Noir fans... is there a particular brand of merlot that you'd recommend??

 

Excellent advice and pretty easy to follow - Thanks again!!

 

*edit* Oh and btw, I believe I purchased the Kim Crawford on your recommendation!! I tried it out at dinner one night just to make sure I liked it and I did - very yummy

Oh though I must ask - what is the difference between New and Old World reds??

I'm trying to think of a good Merlot to recommend ... let me put my thinking cap on.

New World wines are more fruit forward. Fresh and fruity smelling and tasting. most California wines are made in the New World style.

Old World wines have much more earthy tones and are structured without as much fruit on the nose and pallet. Burgundy style wines are considered Old World. Most French wines are Old World.

I think I remember that you like lots of California wines, so just make sure they don't say "Burgundy" style and you should be good to go!

Interesting. Yeah I'm not a big French wine fan! My favs are New Zealand/Australia, then California

Then you definitely are a New World wine lover!

 

Here's a more easy to understand breakdown I found online. Pretty much what I said, but this is probably better said. :-)

 

"Up until recently, I thought the Old World and New World references pertained to geography, Old World wines being those produced in countries that have been producing wine for hundreds of years (i.e., Germany, France, Italy) and New World referring to those countries relatively newly into wine production (US, Australia, South Africa, etc.). But lately I've heard those OW/NW references made to a style of wine -- OW being (maybe) more earthy, musty, etc., and NW being fresher, fruitier, crisper, etc."

Btw, we had our dinner and paired it with the Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc - YUMMMMY! It was really lovely - we made the stirfry (with chicken, 3 different bell peppers, onions & broccoli w/ Honey, Ginger & Soy Marinade which was actually slightly spicy). We made everything and then took it up to our rooftop deck with the bottle of wine and downtown Dallas in the foreground catching the beginning of the sunset - ahhhh, just lovely.

 

The wine pairing was great!

 

Thanks Tami for the suggestions

JamieLynne,

 

I see your from Dallas also. Do you know any good places for wine tasting? I got a gift certificate to a place called Wine Tastic and was thinking of trying that out. I'm semi new to Dallas and the only wine bar I have been to here is Cru in Plano (and loved it)

Hey Kristin! Sorry, I just read this...

Let's see.... Tony's Wine Warehouse is known for their group wine tastings. We went there once (a friend won a wine tasting for 20 friends) and it was awesome! There is also this place in Uptown called Vino 100. It's a wine bar. We actually walked in there the other night hoping they had food too (we were starving!) but they didn't so we left. However, I did see that it's been voted Best Date Place/Bar/Whatever

There is also another one around the Knox/Henderson area *I think*... My FMIL keeps talking about it... will let ya know!

Also, sign up for Siegel's mailing list. We just went to a "Liqueurs Tasting" there - you got a "Passport" for the night, and got to choose 20 different liqueurs to taste. At the end of the night, you turned your Passport in for a drawing for some great prizes. They also had awesome deals on the liqueurs they were tasting... A guy working the champagne department there told us that the day after (which was yesterday) most of the champagnes were going on sale for the Holidays - some up to $15 off for a nice bottle!

OH, and if you like Champagne, there's this spot I've personally been dying to try out! It's called "Brut" - it's next to Hotel Palomar (I think that's the hotel's name...) on Mockinbird, right across from Mockingbird Station. Looks like a great date place!

If you find any other good spots, let me know!