How to host a dinner party with your good wine

If you are a wine enthusiast, you probably have a few bottles you are only willing to share with friends who will really appreciate it. A dinner party is a great way to open a few good bottles, do a tasting, and have a great dinner to go with it.

Here’s how we like to do it.

Step 1: Pick a theme
A theme can create a bit of fun anticipation and give your party some focus. Last weekend, we hosted a “Que Syrah Syrah” party because had some terrific Syrahs we wanted to share. (Last year, we hosted a similar “Pinot Palooza” party.)

Step 2: Invite some friends who love wine
We prefer to keep the total to eight. A group this size is large enough to stimulate a lot of conversation, but small enough to comfortably fit around our dining table. We invited three other couples to Que Syrah Syrah that we knew would enjoy the wine and would mix well with each other.

Step 3: Select your bottles
We selected bottles we had purchased at wineries in 2010. This provided two advantages. First, we didn’t have to buy any extra wine for our tasting. Second, we could talk about our experiences tasting each one. Stories generally make wine taste even better.

Our Que Syrah Syrah menu:

Starter Wine
2006 Wattle Creek Triple Play (Syrah blend)

Wines for Blind Tasting & Dinner
2007 Wattle Creek Shiraz
2007 Cuvaison Diablo Syrah
2006 Domaine Serene Rockblock Reserve Syrah

Step 4: Create your menu
Sticking with one varietal makes it a little easier to come up with a menu that pairs well with the wine. Don’t worry if you aren't a wine pairing pro. Pick up a copy of What to Drink with What You Eat and you’ll always be right on the money. Que Syrah Syrah featured food that was perfect with Syrah.

Appetizer
Stuffed mushrooms
Gouda and Dubliner cheeses

Main Course
Marinated flank steak
Whipped potatoes and parsnips
White corn and zucchini fritters
Grilled eggplant

Dessert
Dark chocolate brownies with white chocolate shavings, raspberries, and whipped cream

Step 5: Set up a blind tasting
We like to do a blind tasting so we can discuss the wine and have a little fun. We were blind tasting three bottles, so each person was served in three glasses. The wine was poured from carafes to prevent our guests from seeing the bottles.

Informal works best for us. We like to sip each of the wines, discuss them with our friends, and ask everyone to pick their favorite. The wines are then revealed after a winner emerges.

Dinner is served once the wines are revealed. Our friends are free to pour themselves a glass of whichever wine they prefer.

Our Que Syrah Syrah winner
The ’07 Cuvaison Diablo took the Que Syrah Syrah title. It was silky smooth with a rich, earthy flavor that was outstanding by itself and paired well with our food.

The other two wines were no slouches, and each got at least one first place vote. Several of our friends noted the '07 Wattle Creek complimented the food very nicely while others appreciated the '06 Domaine Serene Rockblock's delicate flavors.

Camp better with wine

Years ago, beer was the beverage of choice when we went camping. Beer is still terrific, but a glass of wine goes a bit better by the campfire on a cold night in the mountains. Your hands don't freeze while you hold your drink and you end up taking less trips to the woods.

Last weekend, we went camping in San Diego County's Laguna Mountains and brought a few bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon with us. Our meal on Saturday night was pure camping gourmet. We had marinated flank steak, corn on the cob, and grilled zucchini. A nice meal like that deserves wine, no matter where you are!

The temperature that night got down to the low 30s. Fortunately, we had a blazing campfire to keep us warm and a little more Cabernet to provide a liquid coat.

Our faithful dog, Melrose, headed for the tent long before we did on that cold night. Probably because we didn't give her any wine!

The next time you go camping, pick up a couple of bottles of nicely priced Cabernet Sauvignon to take with you!

A great Sangiovese for pizza and game night

Friends and family frequently ask to go wine tasting when they visit us at our home in San Diego.There are wineries scattered throughout San Diego County and nearby Temecula, but we find this wine region, well, hit or miss. Every now and then we stumble across one that surprises us.

One great surprise is Robert Renzoni Vineyards in Temecula.They have produced a couple of wines that have put smiles on our faces.

We recently opened a bottle of their 2007 Sangiovese to enjoy with pizza while hanging out with friends on game night.

The Sangiovese grape matures best at elevations less than 1,500 feet, and thrives in hot, dry climates. Temecula is an excellent region for this grape because it sits at an elevation of about 1,200 feet, average annual temperature is near 80 degrees and annual rainfall is about 13 inches. Growing the grape is one element. Turning it in to a tasty treat is another, and this winemaker gets it right.

The '07 Sangiovese is a medium body red, with a good balance of fruit and spice. The sweetness up front and slight bite on the finish makes it a great match with tomato based pastas and of course, pizza. With a price point of $28, it's not an every day wine, but you don't need to save it for a special occasion. I am glad we have a couple of bottles of the ’08 sitting on the shelves ~ next time,we will have to try it with mom’s famous lasagna.

If visiting the area, check out theRobert Renzoni website for a 2 for 1 tasting coupon.  And, while enjoying a sip of their wine in the tasting room, don’t miss a bite of their delicious pasta sauce ~ it’s just as tasty as their wine!

Let's taste two! A fun side by side tasting

It can be a lot of fun to taste two wines side by side to compare their flavors and pick your favorite. A great way to do this is when they are from the same wine maker but of different vintages or from different vineyards.

We recently had a chance to taste two bottles of Pinot Noir when we dined with Sally's parents and Jeff's parents at the Beach House Restaurant in Laguna Beach. Both bottles were from Barrel Fence Cellars, a small winery in Dundee Hills, Oregon. One, called 45 North, was from their Oregon vineyard. The other, called 45 South, was from their vineyard in New Zealand. We had acquired them by chance on a November trip to Willamette Valley, Oregon.

A lot of people might open one bottle and then the other, but tasting them at the same time allows you to appreciate their subtle differences and pick a favorite. Our server brought each of us two wine glasses and poured a taste in each one.

The table ended up split over which was the best. When you do a side by side tasting over dinner, people generally pick their favorite and continue drinking that wine with their meal. A split is a fortunate result since the wine can be more evenly divided.

Our challenge with these wines was they both kept getting better and better the longer they were open. We all ended up pouring a little more from each bottle over the course of our dinner. Good thing we had a third bottle (another 45 South) on hand when our glasses got low!

The next time you have two great bottles of wine, try sharing them with friends or family by doing a side by side tasting. Don't be afraid to bring them with you to a favorite restaurant if their corkage policy (and local liquor laws) will allow. It's a great way to have a fun night out and you won't have to pay wine list prices!

A great day in Willamette Valley, Oregon

It's Will-ah-met, damn it! The locals are a bit touchy about the pronunciation of their outstanding wine region, but Sally and I were willing to learn the local lingo in return for some great finds at some terrific wineries. Miles would be in heaven here because the main thing is Pinot Noir, but you can also find some good Pinot Blancs, Chardonnays, and even the occasional Syrah.

The Four Graces
Our first stop of the day was the Four Graces in Dundee Hills. Most wineries in the area open at 11 am, so the Four Graces was our pick because it sounded interesting and opened at 10. They poured a very crisp and refreshing Pinot Gris along with five different Pinot Noirs. It was interesting to taste the differences in the same varietal from the same winery. All were good, but our favorite was the '07 Dundee Hills Reserve Pinot Noir which smelled like good BBQ smoke and would go nicely with a piece of slow cooked meat. Mmmmmm.

Domain Drouhin
This winery is French-owned, so they were pouring wines from both sides of the pond. Our favorites were their very balanced 2008 Chardonnay Arthur and their 2007 Pinot Noir Laurene Cuvee that managed to be both delicate and complex at the same time.The grounds were beautiful with views of the valley that might be amazing if it weren't for the gray sky and slight fog.

Domain Serene
A worthy goal when wine tasting is to get a taste of something not on the menu. Going off the tasting menu seemed to be in the plans at the Four Graces and Domain Drouhin, but we had to do some smooth talking at Domain Serene. We started by tasting a Chardonnay and a couple of Pinot Noirs and then moved on to their "Rockblock" Syrah. Their '05 Rockblock Del Rio Vineyard Syrah was very impressive with deep fruit and a taste that grows in complexity. Our server mentioned they only had 17 bottles left of their '06 Rockblock Reserve Syrah so it wasn't open. Hmmmmmm. Fast forward a few minutes and it WAS open, we enjoyed it, and bought two bottles. Just like that they were down to 14 bottles. Almost sold out!  Domain Serene was another beautiful winery that would have some impressive views on a clear, sunny day.

White Rose Wines

Several people had recommended White Rose Wines throughout the day, so we had to stop by. They are perched on a hilltop with another would-be incredible view that was obscured by gray and fog. It was still cool though and their wine was very good. Several different Pinot Noirs to taste, though our favorite was the '08 White Rose Estate Dundee Hills Pinot Noir due to its classic Oregon Pinot taste (earthy) with a hint of spice. Yum!

And now, a lunchtime interlude... We dined at Farm to Fork, a gourmet deli and restaurant that was very 'wine country' with it's nice selection of locally sourced vegetables, wonderful meats, and innovative takes on traditional lunchtime sandwiches.

Back to wine...

Barrel Fence

We almost judged this book by it's cover, but a new friend at the Four Graces had told us this newly opened winery made great stuff and a tasting was worth it because they were seldom open.

The inside of their tasting room looked like a garage, complete with a beautiful '68 Corvette parked in the middle. Okay, it really WAS the guy's garage! But the wine was good and very interesting. He had an estate Pinot Noir from his Dundee Hills vineyard (45 North) and a Pinot Noir made from grapes grown on land he owned in New Zealand (45 South). Both were terrific and reasonably priced ($28/$29) compared to other comparable wines we'd tasted that day.

Penner-Ash
This was another winery that featured beautiful views (if only the day was clear). Like everywhere else, their main show was Pinot Noir, and their several varieties were solidly good.

One last note... Six wineries in one day. Were we drunk? No. Here's the secret to enjoying some wine tasting while still having gas in the tank at the end of the day.

1. Share. You've just cut your intake (and tasting fees) by 50%.
2. Don't drink it if you don't like it. There's no sense in quaffing everything put in front of you.
3. Don't drink it all if you don't love it. It's perfectly OK to take a sip and dump the rest of the glass.
4. Pick your favorite at the end of the day and THEN get pickled.