Not looking for a birth year wine, but I am planning to open a Domaine Georges Vernay
Blonde du Seigneur Côte-Rôtie which will be our first ever Côte-Rôtie.
So I am not sure what other wines would go along with this.
I have some California N Rhone-ish wines but would like to have some more variety.
I am afraid the Côte-Rôtie might over power other options I have so maybe I should open those first before dinner.
I have other Rhone wines (CDR, CDP) but again I think the contrast might be too much.
I have a D&R Shake Ridge Ranch coming and I am thinking maybe that would be a good start.
Thanks for any ideas.
I think there is fun to be had with mix and matching, especially as your wife may not end up absolutely loving the cote rotie? There are others on WB who in past have mentioned a Rhone prior to Burgundy, moving from brutish to refined. I like the Rhone/Burgundy combination myself. Champagne seems like an obvious pairing, especially for a celebratory event at this time of year. Another thought is you can match for food, rather than matching the Cote Rotie.
Don’t overthink it and, if the wine experience is truly important to you two, keep the food simple. IMO it’s as simple as that
What kinds of wine does she like? I’d let that be the main consideration for her birthday dinner.
You don´t say which vintage is the Cote-Rotie.
Depending on that the Vernay might be not very powerful and strong but rather fine and transparent,
Vernay uses quite a bit of Viognier in the blend which is from the Southern “blonde” site of the Cote.
I think a Grenache dominated Southern Rhone (or Californian equivalent) could be a good companian.
I wouldn’t call Vernay overpowering. I think you can take your rightful taste as “opener of wines” and decide which others might go well with your dinner. We also had a bottle of Chinon when last had Vernay.