Is There a Wine Connoisseur in the House?

[ET Awful]

Hellllp!

I need suggestions for a good wine to go with a pasta dish I'm preparing for a new female friend I'm attempting to woo .

I need ideas for a good red wine.

I'm going to be preparing a lasagna of mine I've been making for years, which is a very thick and zesty sauce, so that should be taken into consideration.

Any vegetable suggestions as a side would also be appreciated

Help me out guys (and gals even more so with wooing suggestions :) ).

Thanks for any help!

[Sancho Panza]

1. merlot or cabernet

With any kind of zesty marinara sauce, go with full-bodied and dry. Good luck with the date! :-)

[radwriter0555]

18. Agreed, merlot or the zin would be fine.

Enjoy!

[bif]

2. I'd go Cotes Du Rhone

From France. They tend to be full bodied and not overly expensive. You should be able to pick one up in the $8 range. Another plus is that you're supporting France in a small way!

[GOPisEvil]

3. Italian food calls for an Italian wine, no?

How about a nice chianti? (Fava beans optional ;-) )

Cecchi Chianti Classico 2000 vintage is good with a spicy marinara. I know; I paired these two recently on the advice of a wine merchant. The bottle was about $12 IIRC.

Good luck on your wooage! :D

[ET Awful]

7. Chianti was my first thought to . . .

Just wasn't sure which winery to go with :)

[GOPisEvil]

9. I've had good luck with Cecchi and Ruffino. n/t

[Robb]

8. The trouble with Chianti

...is that it's almost always worth what you pay for. IMO, no chianti that retails for less than $25 is any good; and that's too much for a wino like me to drink regularly.

For these flavors, I'd go with these French suggestions, all around 10-12 bucks a bottle, all of which I've tasted in the past month:

Christian Moueix's 2000 Merlot (Bordeaux region),

Domaine du Gros Nore 1999 Bandol, or

Perrin Reserve 2000 Cotes du Rhone (my fave right now).

...Plus, you have the added benefit of showing off your politics by proudly drinking French wine. We've been drinking only French wine for several months now (our little grass roots action), and it's been fun to learn so much about it.

[Snow]

29. No, a hairy-chested Spanish red, that still won't break the budget...

Torres' "Sangre de Toro" - 'blood of the bull' - and you get a little plastic bull attached to the neck.

[NashVegas]

4. Not a Connoisseur But

Stag's Leap cabernet is great stuff.
Less affordable, but will knock you on your ass, is Mayacamas cabernet if you can find a vintage old enough to be ready for drinking.

[slappypan]

5. Bonny Doon’s Big House Red

Good, and inexpensive.

[Robb]

15. Ooh, you're Eeeeevil!

You just want him to get that home and find out it's a screwtop! :)

Actually, I liked Big House quite a bit. Sort of reminded me of the Reds / Terra Rosa / Patrick Campbell philosophy that great blended wine can fool you into thinking it's a fab vintage. Plus the playfulness, plus the screwtop -- yeah, it's a winner, but unless the woman is a real wine-head, she might not get the screwtop.

[curlyred]

19. I love the twist top on this one

We also drink a lot of Lindeman's Bin 40.
It comes in the bigger bottles, which is always a good thing.

[denverbill]

22. I agree.

The screw top is funky, but awfully handy. Those guys make a good wine, and used corks for many years before figuring out the screwtop was preferable. You're guaranteed never to get a corky bottle, which happens too often with other wines. We drink lots of wine, and almost always pick up a couple bottles of that. That being said, opening a screw top bottle might not impress the date.

Another we like is Black Swan Shiraz.

[curlyred]

24. you'd better agree

since we're usually drinking from the same bottle. :)

[TNDemo]

6. We drink a lot of Bolla.

I love red wine and Italian food. The perfect romantic dinner. However, I am not a connoisseur so hopefully if this is not a good choice someone will correct me.

[Whitacre D_WI]

10. If it's a zesty sauce,

you want a wine with a higher alcohol content, and a bit of pep. I'd suggest a good Zinfandel (like Renwood Old Vine, either '97 or '99), which should cost about $17-$20. If you want to save some money and stick with the Italian theme, go with Primitivo. It's the same grape as Zin, and has the same spicy/fruity/full-bodied profile; but you can get a great bottle for less than $10.

Oh, by the way -- when I say "zinfandel," I mean ZINFANDEL. NOT "white zinfandel," which is an abomination, a crime against nature.

[Robb]

11. I'm with you on the white zin thing

When I was waiting tables, the conversation would go:

"Would you care for a glass of wine?"

"Yes, I'll have a glass of white zinfandel."

and in my mind, I'd say

"No, I actually meant would you like a glass of wine...."

:)

[TreasonousBastard]

12. A nice Merlot...

always works. For some reason, just about everyone seems to like merlot.

It is, however, almost impossible to find a bad wine now. There's such a glut of it that everyone's almost giving away the good stuff. I find perfectly decent wines for 5 or 6 bucks a bottle, and drinkable ones for less. Trader Joe's has its famous "Two-Buck Chuck" which costs 3 bucks here, and isn't bad at all.

If she's got a sense of humor, there's "Cheap Red Wine" available in most of the country. Yes, that's the label, but it may not be easy to find.

If you must go Italian, which would be a good idea, avoid "Bolla" or any other branded wine. Any good grog shop should have an Italian section, with some sort of ratings. Get something that looks good but is not seen in advertising.

The most important thing is that she drink a lot of it.


"Candy is dandy
But liquor is quicker"
Ogden Nash

[ET Awful]

13. Wooo Hoooo (pun intended).

Thanks for the suggestions and keep 'em coming. The French is starting to sound good, I'm a fan of both French and Italian wines, so more suggestions are appreciated.

I'll be visiting the local wine and cheese shop tonight :).

[geebensis]

17. Opus One

...the Mondavi - Rothschild collaboration, is very good. For $130/bottle for the 99, it better be. It's a blend of cabernet, merlot, and whatever else they had laying around.

My absolute favorite is Sterling cab. It's $25, so it's not an everyday wine (at least it isn't for me). It goes with everything from pizza to oysters.

[MercutioATC]

14. Coppola Diamond Series Zinfandel

...the bottle with the...well...wine-colored label. About $15-$16 and tastes like a $30-$40 bottle.

[DrDan]

16. I'd go for an Italian also

probably either a Valpolicella or Sangiovese

wonderful with pasta dishes, and not too expensive

[noonwitch]

20. Sangiovese

Italian red wine-Erte, Luna di Luna are two decent ones for about $10 a bottle.

[really-looney]

21. Sangiovese-Merlot

Ruffino makes one called Del-Sol or somthing like that. It is about a $10.00 bottle. Not bad with or with out the food

On the high end Ferrari-Cerrano Merlot it is on the very expensive side $40.00 a bottle if you are lucky. (That is expensive to me)

[Japhy_Ryder]

23. How about this one?

[patdem]

25. Yes,,,,drink beer

[TrogL]

26. There's three kinds

Red, white and pink.

Go with the red. There's some good Hungarian stuff. Stay away from New Zealand reds.

Buy Canadian!

[Kathy in Cambridge]

27. Zinfandel-I like Ravenswood

very hearty-take it from someone married to an Italian-American wine lover, it goes well with lasagna!

[TXlib]

28. my ideas

I find cabernet sauvignon a little too tannic (astringent).

Merlot and shiraz are much softer.

Zinfandel (not white) is a very fruity, pleasing one.

Pinot noir is great if it's done right, but you'll pay $$$ for a really good one.

Australian and Chilean wines are very good, and inexpensive.

For your lasagna, either a california zinfandel (I like Sin Zin), or an australian merlot or shiraz.