We've got a dinner party to attend tonight. It's with people who have been having monthly get togethers and we can finally make it to one of the parties. The hosts are making the food, the guests are bringing the wine.
Tonight's theme is Latin/Mexican. I'm excited to see what the hosts (strangers to me at the time of this posting) whip up and how our wines co-mingle with the flavors. It seems Latin food is a little hard to pair with. It's not an obvious no-brainer like Italian food or seafood. Mexican food is rich, fruity and earthy all at the same time. Our wine rack at home are currently filled with wines from St. James Winery, in central Missouri. The Norton from that part of the country is great. But we also have some dry white wines that I'm anxious to try.
So in anticipation of this dinner, and in hopes of making a good impression on strangers I stopped by the liquor store this afternoon. Cab sav seems too heavy and I've never been a fan of any zinfandels since I graduated from college. I finally settled on a mid-priced Syrah. We'll see how it goes. I think we'll take a dry white, just for added insurance. I checked a few sites before making my final selection from our wine rack. I usually just pair Mexican food with good beer, but adding the wine was a nice challenge. Wineanswers.com has a great site for pairings.
We're (maybe just me) are sort of wine dorks, snobs would imply we know what we're talking about. We have a wine journal. We write down the wines we drink, what occasion we drank them on like birthdays or anniversaries. We also write down what we ate it with and our impressions of the wine. We've got quite a little book going.
Some of our favorites include:
Cabernet Sauvignon, Three Rivers Winery, Walla Walla, Wash., $15 -- This wine is smooth, dark, oaky and all around tasty.
Norton, Stone Hill Winery, Central Missouri, $18-$20 -- This is a full-bodied red wine that is made from the Norton grape. It might not show up on fancy wine lists, but it's quite good. Dry with hints of oak and cherry. We had this one on Christmas Eve last year.
We sort of stick to red wines, I guess we're trying to grow hair on our chests or something. I feel like if I want something smooth and easy, I'm have a beer. However, I do enjoy a good Pinot Grigio -- especially in the summer.
One of my favorites is Barefoot...cheap, fruity and always a good choice.
Buen Provecho!
