[Mike B.]

Going to a dinner tonight with the following menu:
* Pork and chicken kabobs on the grill
* orzo salad with spinach, artichokes, sundried tomatoes
* breaded & baked zucchini and broccoli
* grilled flatbread
* berry trifle

Need to take a decent bottle of wine. Suggestions? Trying to avoid the usual Finger Lakes stuff that we always have.

 

[H8R]

Segura Viudas cava (sparkling)

Light, summery, kicks ass w/ pork or chicken.

 

[narlus]

italian dolcetto

 

[SkaredShtles]

Italian barbera - wine that goes with pretty much anything.

If you can find it, get a bottle of Fontanafredda Broccotondo barbera - it's very good and a VERY good value...

 

[narlus]

don't listen to SS...as is typical, he's recommending an IPA-type wine, when you need a milder ale equivalent. dolcetto FTW.

 

[SkaredShtles]

I've never found a dolcetto that has impressed me much. Have any recommendations?

 

[TN]

I would say a Brouilly or a Quatre Vents, hell you can't go wrong with any Beaujolais Cru this time of year. Just throw it into a bucket of ice water for 6 minutes before opening.

Or a Provencal rose'.

 

[narlus]

i think you are just a tannin/hops kinda guy, re: taste.


i've had some excellent dolcettos but can't think of any specific brands off the top of my head.

it's not a wine to knock yr socks off, or impress yr friends, just a good solid wine w/ food.

you can never go wrong w/ Vietti:

 

[SkaredShtles]

i think you are just a tannin/hops kinda guy, re: taste.


i've had some excellent dolcettos but can't think of any specific brands off the top of my head.

it's not a wine to knock yr socks off, or impress yr friends, just a good solid wine w/ food.

you can never go wrong w/ Vietti:

I'll track down some of that Vietti if I can...

I actually like the acidic nature of a lot of barberas... seems to make them easy to pair with most foods.

This page seems to disagree that they are particularly tannic wines...

It gives good yields and can impart deep colour, low tannins and (unusually for a warm-climate red grape) high levels of acid

 

[Mike B.]

Thanks all, I'm off to the wine shop and leaning towards a dolcetto. I'll try the others another time.

 

[narlus]

yeah, acidic and tannic weren't the best of synonyms.

 

[SkaredShtles]

yeah, acidic and tannic weren't the best of synonyms.

I do like tannins... with my steak.

We eat a LOT of Italian-ish foods and I've found barbera to be very versatile on our table.

So I buy a lot of it. I've currently got 15 bottles of that Briccotondo in the basement.

Of course I've got pretty much nothing else. :

 

[narlus]

i guess what i was getting at is that it's not a stretch to think you'd enjoy barberas more than, say, valpolicellas.

 

[SkaredShtles]

i guess what i was getting at is that it's not a stretch to think you'd enjoy barberas more than, say, valpolicellas.

Oooh... there's one I haven't had in awhile...

Off to the liquor store...