OK, I have no knowledge about wine whatsoever....Need your help!

[Ziachild007]

Going to have dinner with some friends tonight, where they will be having some venison (elk, I think). They are big wine collectors (have a complete downstairs room just for wine). What would be a good wine to take to dinner?

[Furd]

Three questions:

 

1) How much do you want to spend? (May make a difference regarding varietal)

 

2) Is it going to be opened for dinner? (If I'm serving dinner, I'm picking the wine. I'm not going to leave it up to someone with no wine experience and I'm not going to put myself in the position of either having to snub you by setting your bottle aside or drink a bad/inapproriate bottle with dinner.)

 

3) Is everybody else at the dinner an experienced wine drinker? (An inexperienced person may not be aware that there is such a thing as red zinfandel.)

 

Edit: If its #2, you need to know what you're eating and how its prepared. (However, if you don't know this info already, I don't think that your host expects you to bring a wine for dinner.)

Edited January 2, 2011 by Furd

[Ziachild007]

Three questions:

 

1) How much do you want to spend? (May make a difference regarding varietal)

 

2) Is it going to be opened for dinner? (If I'm serving dinner, I'm picking the wine. I'm not going to leave it up to someone with no wine experience and I'm not going to put myself in the position of either having to snub you by setting your bottle aside or drink a bad/inapproriate bottle with dinner.)

 

3) Is everybody else at the dinner an experienced wine drinker? (An inexperienced person may not be aware that there is such a thing as red zinfandel.)

 

Edit: If its #2, you need to know what you're eating and how its prepared. (However, if you don't know this info already, I don't think that your host expects you to bring a wine for dinner.)

 

1) $25-30??

 

2)No idea. Just know she is a big wine collector so just thought I'd be a nice gesture.

 

3)I don't think so. It's just the two families.

[detlef]

Three questions:

 

1) How much do you want to spend? (May make a difference regarding varietal)

 

2) Is it going to be opened for dinner? (If I'm serving dinner, I'm picking the wine. I'm not going to leave it up to someone with no wine experience and I'm not going to put myself in the position of either having to snub you by setting your bottle aside or drink a bad/inapproriate bottle with dinner.)

 

3) Is everybody else at the dinner an experienced wine drinker? (An inexperienced person may not be aware that there is such a thing as red zinfandel.)

 

Edit: If its #2, you need to know what you're eating and how its prepared. (However, if you don't know this info already, I don't think that your host expects you to bring a wine for dinner.)

Good info here. I also agree with Opie that maybe you should bring something besides wine.

 

If it must be wine, whatever you do, find a good independent shop and put yourself in their hands. It's really your only chance of bringing something "cool".

 

If you want a safe bet, grab bubbles. It doesn't matter what you're having because you can always start out with bubbles and you can never have too much because the stuff drinks so fast and easy. And it doesn't need to be Champagne. Unless they're pretentious as hell, they should be able to enjoy a nice bottle of Cava or Prosecco (you can get something very cool for less than $20). Again, just go someplace cool because a crappy bottle costs about the same as something cool and interesting.

 

Some I like:

Avinyo Cava (about $15. Small house, very cool.)

Segura Viudas (both the brut and Aria retail for $10 or less)

Adami Prosecco (maybe about $15)

Domaine Carneros (CA sparkling wine house with stuff from the mid teens and up. Very solid)

 

 

I say this as someone who has a pretty decent cellar so I'm sure some have the same dilemma you're having when they come to my place. So I'm telling you what I would most appreciate from a guest in your position.

[Furd]

I agree with detlef regarding the sparkling wine.

 

Last night I had a very good Llopart rose' cava. I think that I paid about $20 for it.

 

For a gift, I'd try to go off the beaten path (see det's post). But if your in a pinch, and you do not have a knowledgeable wine person near by, you can probably find a bottle of Iron Horse or maybe even Roederer Estate at a nearby beer/wine shop.

 

I'm a big fan of the Mumm Napa which you can find at a lot of places.

 

Or you could do something different, like pick up a nice strawberry cheesecake.

Edited January 3, 2011 by Furd

[detlef]

I agree with detlef regarding the sparkling wine.

 

Last night I had a very good Llopart rose' cava. I think that I paid about $20 for it.

 

For a gift, I'd try to go off the beaten path (see det's post). But if your in a pinch, and you do not have a knowledgeable wine person near by, you can probably find a bottle of Iron Horse or maybe even Roederer Estate at a nearby beer/wine shop.

 

I'm a big fan of the Mumm Napa which you can find at a lot of places.

Can't believe I forgot that. Love that stuff. Tried a 92 Blanc de Blanc the day after an 85 Dom and thought it was a dead ringer.

[Bier Meister]

good questions by furd......

 

if they are serving elk or venison you can easily go with zin, bordeaux, barolo, brunello, amorone though the last three may be hard to find in your price range. sparklers are good for any occasion. i am partial to the offerings of gloria ferrer: blanc de blancs and blanc de noirs are some of my favorites and in your price range.

[Ziachild007]

The whole idea was to just bring something to show appreciation for the invite. Thought maybe wine would be a good choice, but being Sunday I didn't have many buying options so at the risk of looking like a monster truck aficionado, just took a nice strawberry cheesecake for everyone to enjoy.