I’m going to dinner tonight at an Italian BYOB restaurant with my family. Mix of seafood and red sauce Italian entrees. They don’t drink a lot of wine, but when they do it’s usually white zinfandel, pinot grigio, pinot noir, or rose. They’re not fans of big tannic reds and like their white wines a little sweet. For red, I was thinking I’d get a Rosso di Montalcino since it isn’t aged in barrel long (I love BdM), but I’m clueless as to what I should get for white wines. Any tips from your guys’ experience?
I’d be inclined to go with Barbera for the red and Arneis for the white.
Chianti Classico (or Chianti Classico Riserva) would also work well with the red-sauce Italian stuff…I tend to find it a little easier to find a crowd-pleasing Chianti than Rosso di Montalcino at any given price point. Valpolicella (maybe Ripasso) or even Amarone would get you the “slightly sweet” you’re looking for…
For whites you could probably pick almost any Italian white, but you’re not going to get anything that’s not dry unless you’re looking for a dessert wine. Pinot Grigio is always safe for groups, and a Vermentino or Vernacchia would work fine. IF they would normally drink California Chard, you can probably find a good Chardonnay as well (Antinori Cervaro is pretty good stuff).
Just posted this recommendation in the best values thread, but there are some very nice Soave’s being made today in particular by the likes of Pieropan, Inama, and Gini.
They are fermented fully dry but I have found them to be sufficiently fleshy and accessible to please the drinker of average grocery store white wine but restrained and interesting enough to please more experienced palates. they work well with rich sauces. Wood, when used, generally has a very light touch. WHile they can be aged for the medium term to some benefit, with a bit of air they are enjoyable on release.
They are in the $15-30 range (depending on the cuvée) and fairly widely available,
Dolcetto is your friend for red. For white, Falanghina. Both upfront, easy, fruity wines.
Rosso Piceno Superiore–a blend of Sangiovese and Montepulciano from le marche–can be a nicely fleshy wine. Second on Veneto reds and whites for the body and richness that one could equate with slight sweetness. Lagrein from the Alto-Adige, which is bold and dark-fruited but not really tannic, might be pretty cool also.
Dolcetto, Primitivo, or Cannonau are other good options. Lots to choose from.
I think barbera would be risky for people with those preferences because it’s typically tart – high in acid. Dolcetto would be better for this crowd, I think.
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo would be a good bet, too, I think, since it tends to be relatively low in acid and tannin. I second the Valpolicella recommendation for the same reason. Or primitivo or cannonau (aka grenache).
I’d go with a Primitivo or Nero d’Avola from the South. Probably not really sweet, but most of them are heavy and full of ripe fruit, though you can get somewhat lighter styles too.
If you want something that is really sweet, how about a Moscato d’Asti for the white. or even a cheaper Asti. Perhaps a Brachetto for the red - also also light sweet and sparkling.
What’s a “red sauce” BTW. You mean tomato sauce?
+1 on Moscato for the white and Brachetto for the red, both are a bit sweet and low octane, took some relatives out (they sound quite similar to your crowd) for Italian the other night and served a chilled Brachetto. They loved it
+2. It was my first thought as well.
Arneis, Pinot Grigio, Argiolas Vermentino, Gini Soave all good choices re white, Monte Antico is a reasonably priced, user friendly red that might work…
A little late here, but while zinfandel isnt italian, it is essentially the same grape as primitivo and CA zins are rounder and easier to drink when young w/o the high tannins of typical big italian reds. We pair ravenswood single vins (old hill, big river, teldeschi) and carlisles successfully with red sauce pretty regularly.
So what did you bring and how did it work out?? I know very little about Italian wine but I do find that many Italian restaurants have easy drinking red wine at reasonable prices .
I never heard the term until I moved to the East Coast. It encompasses pretty much all tomato-based sauces.
Thanks.
Where I live now the term is used (sometimes at least, not sure how commonly) for tomato ketchup.
Hopefully that’s not what they’re putting on pasta.
I’m going to disagree that non-geek Americans are going to like dolcetto. It’s pretty out there compared to things these folks will have had and liked. So grapey and raw tasting.
There are lots of Super Tuscans our there, particularly ones with a significant cab and /or especially merlot percentage, which would go over well with folks like these yet still have some modest sense of Italy to them.
Frappatto!!
Actually never had an Italian wine that was too dry or too tannic
I would suggest Foradori or an aged CCR
Arneis for white. Or a Ferrari with a vintage