NHFR: Wine for dinner

[blndsnbrdr]

I drink wine when its available or when I have an entire bottle left after using a 1/2 cup to cook. But thats about it.

I don't know a damn thing about wine. But I've been asked to bring wine to dinner tonight.

What kind should I get? 

Please be specific. I'm wine stupid.

[taratru]

I get whatever label looks pretty.

If it's for a party, it's best to grab something general...a chardonnay and a pinot noir, maybe. They're pretty middle of the road. I really like the Middle Sister brand, mostly because of the clever names. Apothic has pretty good red and white blends, and they're $10/bottle. Easy peasy.

[blndsnbrdr]

Dec 24, 2013 13:30:11 GMT -5 taratru said:

I get whatever label looks pretty.

If it's for a party, it's best to grab something general...a chardonnay and a pinot noir, maybe. They're pretty middle of the road. I really like the Middle Sister brand, mostly because of the clever names. Apothic has pretty good red and white blends, and they're $10/bottle. Easy peasy.

This is how I buy wine... I never know if it'll taste good tho!

Its a mini dinner party with some legit foodies, which makes me nervous! 

[runaways]

I also thought you were going to say you had wine for dinner. This happens to me on the regular. Other than that I'm not much use - I drink a lot of cheap white wine.

[taratru]

Don't be nervous. As long as you don't show up with a bottle of two buck chuck, no one will mind.

[raynajames]

Dec 24, 2013 13:36:27 GMT -5 runaways said:

I also thought you were going to say you had wine for dinner. This happens to me on the regular. Other than that I'm not much use - I drink a lot of cheap white wine.

I thought so too.

I'd go with Apothic Red or White or one of the Cupcakes (except the Red Velvet. Way too sweet!).

[mrs.jacinthe]

Any idea what the meal is? How many people?

When I worked in a restaurant, our most popular wine varietals were Merlot and Chardonnay. For reasonably priced and decent bottles:
-La Crema chardonnay. It's not overly oaky or dry and it's a pretty popular wine overall - it will appeal to a wide variety of white drinkers.
-Blackstone merlot. It's cheap, but I worked in a reasonably high-end restaurant (think $30+ entrees and Kobe beef), and it was our most popular bottle. It's grapey without being overly sweet.

Another good wine if you want a different varietal is Zynthesis Old Vine Zinfandel. We buy it pretty regularly because it's reliably popular. I've never opened a bottle and had someone be like, "that's not to my taste".

[sadlebred]

If you can go to a nicer liquor store, I'd ask for recommendations. My local mega-beverage mart's wine guy has not failed me.

[labbie]

Dec 24, 2013 13:32:51 GMT -5 Mrs.flang said:

I thought you were going to tell us you had wine for dinner.  Literally.

Ditto- and I was going to be jealous! Having some pre-dinner wine now, so can't complain. And red wine is good for the heart, correct? So it's HFR....
Agree with sadlebred's rec to ask the liquor store person-  they can recommend something good in a decent price range. You can get some nice wines for not a lot of $$ (and likewise some not so good ones for more $$ than I care to spend).