wine help needed

I'm not sure this is in the right category, but I will be eating some delightful thai food at a BYOB and wonder if anyone can recommend a good wine......we like it hot, and I am partial to fish sauce, lime, cilantro, chili sauces.
ps, I had a SCRUMPTIOUS meal at lotus of siam in Las Vegas last week. It is all that and a bag of chips, as they used to say.

thank you!

Personally, I'd drink beer with such food, but...

The best wine matches with capsaicin-based spicy food are a demi-sec Champagne or a quality Prosecco. The lower the alcohol in the wine, the better will be the match.

Mark

Personally, I prefer a dry or slightly sweet Riesling with spicy food. Another good idea would be to try a Gewurztraminer.

I would drink beer also, probably a nice pilsener. The big problem with BYOBs is that you have to guess what you might be eating ahead of time. Rather than ordering wine to match the food, you sometimes end up doing the opposite. That is why I often bring two bottles, then decide which one to open after we have made our food selections. For spicy asian foods, I think the Gewurztraminer suggestion is good, as long as it is not overly sweet.

check out:

http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2006/0 ... .html#more

I don't care for her politics or uber-jetsetting schtick...but she knows her food and that's really all that counts.

Christopher Gordon wrote:check out:

http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2006/0 ... .html#more

I don't care for her politics or uber-jetsetting schtick...but she knows her food and that's really all that counts.

I like her Loire Valley Vouvray suggestion. That is my standard option for Vietnamese food. Even a Viognier might work.

I second the viognier...maybe Yalumba? The 2005 is back to tastiness after the lackluster 2004 and awesome 2003 or, perhaps a Muller-Thurgau(I really like Pojer and Sandri).

you guys are great. Thank you!

Not that it adds much, but I agree with everyone. I think the Muller-T. has a nice crisp neutrality that will accompany but not fight all those flavors, and there's nothing exquisite about it to get lost.

Alsacian riesling is often my choice; I usually find Gewurz. too assertive with too complex a palate of its own accept its supporting role quietly.

A Vouvray or a Pinot Blanc or a slightly sweet German Riesling all might do very well. Another possibility would be any of the many trebbiano based Italian whites that are tasty but basically crisp and light. Tuscan Gallestro, Umbrian Orvieto (secco or abboccato), maybe even Vernaccia. The right Soave might work too.

Almond-y Greco di Tufo might be a bold experiment. Bigger body and more richness and flavor that the above list of quaffing wines. But maybe not with all the heat your talking about.

I'd still have Asian beer.

Sorry, couldn't resist.
A friend of mine who has always detested riesling - "too sweet," she sniffed - learned graphically how riesling's high acidity and food-friendliness really works.
I asked her to sip the riesling.
"Sweet." she spat.
Okay, I said, try a little bit of this Thai red curry beef.
She did.
Now try the wine again.
She screamed.
"It's not sweet,'' she exclaimed.
Right.

This conversation has come up before.

Because great Thai places like Spoon and Yum Thai are BYOB, I've drunk a lot of wine with Thai food. I have a few favorite matches.

First, I agree with Loire Valley, but I would not drink Vouvray. Rather, I love the combination of very tart wines with tart flavors of Thai food. Pouilly Fume goes exceedly well.

Second, what's more Loire than Loire these days, and that's New Zealand SB. Talking about tart! I do not think there is a better wine in the $10-15 price point.

Third, Bill Daley last week focused on un-oaked Chards, especially Australian's chards, and I think those would go too, although I've never drunk specifically with Thai.

Finally, yea, I love sparkling with Thai as well, and you cannot do wrong with one of the better California champagne style wines like Chandon.

Rob

Vital Information wrote:First, I agree with Loire Valley, but I would not drink Vouvray. Rather, I love the combination of very tart wines with tart flavors of Thai food. Pouilly Fume goes exceedly well.

Interesting logic. Like most people here, I just defaulted to the light and fruity with asian food school of thought. You take it in the other direction. Now that I think about a dish with kafir leaves and lemon grass or lime juice and shredded papaya paired with a Pouilly Fume or Sauvignon Blanc, I can see the tart with tart reasoning. I do love both those wines. This begs for some in-depth research.

Do you have a favorite NZ SB?

I've always thought the ubiquitous Villa Maria was tasty and good value for everyday.

Upping the ante a bit, I have really enjoyed Alois Lageder's Italian SV (Trentino-Alto Adige, I'm pretty sure). Haven't had it in a couple of years though. There are also a number of really nice Friulian ones, though exhange rates has made them fairly pricey.

mrbarolo wrote:I've always thought the ubiquitous Villa Maria was tasty and good value for everyday.

Upping the ante a bit, I have really enjoyed Alois Lageder's Italian SV (Trentino-Alto Adige, I'm pretty sure). Haven't had it in a couple of years though. There are also a number of really nice Friulian ones, though exhange rates has made them fairly pricey.

and, I'm at the friendly antithesis, never having been wowed by Alois-Ladeger

mrbarolo wrote:I've always thought the ubiquitous Villa Maria was tasty and good value for everyday.

I like Villa Maria too. I actually have Hat Hammond for introducing it to me. Goldwater is especially good, for a value wine, and Kim Crawford, another well known one, I like. Otherwise, I cannot think of specifics.

Rob

Thanks to one and all..........and gee.......we even had the wine man himself check in!

I used to think I knew a little bit about wine (having viewed several dvds on the topic, gone wine tasting in sunny california, spurned merlots for pinot grigios...(ho ho) and tried many varieties myself. After reading your posts I realize I don't know squat! Can you recommend a good class that is beyond the basics and would be good for a wine lover on a tight budget?

Again, thank you all!

The only classes I know of (there must be others) are here: http://www.wineschool.com/

He's been around a long time and is a well known figure on the scene. I can't speak from either first or even 2nd hand experience, nor can I comment on price.

My inclination would be to befriend a local merchant. Preferably the owner of a smaller boutique type store where they thrive on developing and cultivating personal relationships. By "befriend" of course I mean patronize. Be a good customer. They're not in it for the hugs or the conversation. Spend some money, hang out a bit on weekends when they're likely to be opening bottles. Taste. Ask. Almost all of them will have winery and distributor reps. in to talk about their portfolios. Sign-up for more formal special events which they all have. Keep a little notebook. Buy a good book or 2. Read. Taste.

Rinse. Repeat.

My first and current oeno-mentor was/is Howard Silverman at Howard's Wine Cellar on Belmont. Howard's father was one of the founders of Sam's but he struck out on his own after decades there. He's deeply opinionated, no one knows more.

My Italian wine mentor was Al Cirillo of Convito Italiano in Wilmette. He may well be retired by now. I used to work there, but no longer get up there at all. I'm a city boy.

People tell me that the folks at Wine Discount Center are very helpful and take care of customers very well. Somehow I've never been in.

Lots of people are close to individual staff members at Sam's. (You can't beat their prices, but I've got issues with Sam's. 'Nuff said for the present.)

There are many other little boutique stores including one on Clark in Andersonville, one on Lincoln in the Lincoln Sq. area, one on Halstead a bit south of Webster, I believe, and one on Southport near the Music Box as I recall.

Shaffer's in Skokie is very neophyte-friendly, and a friend of mine now works there part time.

Check out a few shops and see where the atmosphere feels congenial to you.

First thing I would do is pick up a Hugh Johnson Pocket Guide to Wine (about $15). He's a one-man industry of wine books (pocket guides, massive histories, glossy coffee table tomes and everything in-between). The Pocket Guide is about as easy-to-use, comprehensive and accurate as a small reference could possibly be. It lives in my shoulder bag.

Enjoy.

I'm probably too late for the meal, but I read the thread and wondered how Gruner Veltliner might work with Thai. It's my summer wine of choice. If you're looking for value, the Huber Hugo GV can't be beat. I think I paid $8.99/bottle at Binny's recently.

I had thought of it, but don't know it well enough to comment. Thanks for the rec.

For total summer sipping value there's also Portuguese Verdelho. Don't know much about individual producers but they're light and fresh and as cheap as $4.99. Definitely look for youngest available.

I think the 2005 Huber was just released. I can't say enough good things about it. Floral, fruity, mineral-y (if it's possible to be all three). Deeelicious.

Vino Verde is another cheap and easy favorite. I'll look for the Portugese white. Thanks!

My favorite wines to drink with what I normally think of as beer drinking food are dry roses (not sure how to get the accent on). They seem to stand up well to spice, and they are great in general for the summer. There are a lot of nice inexpensive ones available now, almost all the Rhone/Provence, Spanish, and Argentinian Malbec roses are good, as is the mulderbosch from South Africa. For the last few years, I have replaced my summer whites with roses. Plus they are probably healthier. You can still get the health benefits of red wine, but you need to drink twice as much.
-Will

S. Rhone roses...great call. Completely slipped my mind. Thanks for the reminder. Oh boy, it's summer wine time!

I like her Loire Valley Vouvray suggestion. That is my standard option for Vietnamese food. Even a Viognier might work.

I just had an awesome Vouvray with Thai food last week - It was a 2004 Bourillion-Dorleans (purchased from Marshall Fields of all places). it paired very well with all the different foods we had.

I haven't paired this with Thai food, but a Viognier that I really enjoy lately is from Miner Vineyards in California. It's got a nice crisp finish reminicient of a Sauv Blanc.

funghi wrote:Can you recommend a good class that is beyond the basics and would be good for a wine lover on a tight budget?

In addition to the great suggestions above, go to our nice local wine bars and get "flights" - an instant way to compare wines and match them with food. Volo, Webster's, Avec, Randolph St., Bin 36, etc....

are any of you interested in meeting for a wine thing this summer?