OK so a friend of mine is throwing a 50th birthday party for his wife and asked me for suggestions on wines to pair. I had some ideas but thought it would be fun to throw it out to the treehouse for input. Here goes:
First course:
Sushi (not sure but I assume various maki rolls, perhaps some nigiri, probably salmon, tuna, crabmeat, etc.)
Second course:
Braised spare ribs with seared scallops and asparagus
Dessert:
Chocolate cake and assorted pastries
The wife likes mostly red and Pinot Noir in particular, but some whites.
My thoughts were
Course 1:
Champagne or sparkling wine (maybe prosecco)
or
Savennieres or Vouvray
or
Trocken or mildly off dry Riesling
Course 2:
Northern Rhone for a red (thinking the syrah will go well with the ribs but might not be as overpowering on the scallops as a Bordeaux would be). (Just not thinking the Pinot Noir would hold up well with the asparagus and braised beef).
Viognier for white
Course 3:
Vintage port (if wine must be served)
or
coffee drinks/spirits
or
more Champagne
Please feel free to critique and offer other ideas (but please give explanations for the choices)
Spec’s is notorious for not having a real time online inventory. And, what they do have online is only representative of the Smith Street mother ship in Houston.
Yeah, I figured it was probably too good to be true.
When I saw the search results spit out not one but two different hits on Forey, I almost fell off the couch.
Well they ought to have that Zardetto Prosecco for your raw fish, and they ought to have a big Shiraz like Mollydooker or Schild for the chocolates.
I guess the big question would be what kind of a Pinot to find in greater DFW for the ribs, without having to call down to Austin.
PS: I’m assuming that we aren’t dealing with bazillionaires who are fracking the Eagle Ford or wherever - in that case they can just buy their own wine store or distributorship or Ex/Im smuggling operation.
I like the dry Riesling (maybe Aussie) and tawny Port suggestions (and they have the advantage of being reasonably priced and relatively easy to find).
The beef dish is tough. If she likes pinot for the weight and touch of earthiness, Rioja; if she likes it for the fruit, big California or perhaps Grenache might make sense. Nothing too tannic with the scallops, I don’t think.
Second course:
Braised spare ribs with seared scallops and asparagus
Those proteins seem like they don’t belong on the same plate. They present totally different pairing challenges. Why don’t you break them into two courses?
Second course is definitely the difficult one. Im with Chris on maybe breaking them up but if you cant maybe a blanc de noirs–Marie Courtin does one that might work or rose champagne–thinking nv ruinart. Other than that think pinot would be best. We love Dagueneau SB with sushi—silex is our go to here, or champagne. I recently served '08 Vilmart that was very pretty and had a slight sweetntess that would pair well with sushi.
I’d go bubbly for the first course. If it’s my wife’s 50th and she like pinot, I’m serving a pinot. With the surf and turf components it’s a strange match anyway. Port for dessert.
Chris, I agree. Actually I think the asparagus is what really throws it off for me. Very tough to pair with anything tannic, but the braised ribs scream for something to cut through.
Not my party, not my menu. Wanting to help a friend. I am leaning more towards suggesting pinot noir the second course, since it is the wife’s favorite. Bubbles would be the primary choice for the sushi with the trocken riesling or savennieres as the alternative.