Don’t follow #4.
+1
Obv answer is champs
Ridge Zin. Doesn’t go with the food, but it is always a crowd pleaser. People who don’t like whites probably won’t like roses or lighter reds, no matter how good they are.
Silly question, have the blancophobes ever tried good whites, properly served? Sometimes they don’t give white a proper chance. We have some friends who were predominantly red drinkers, who are learning to like whites. They had tended to think of whites as aperitifs rather than potentially food wines.
This event may not be the occasion for an intervention, though.
You are probably correct on two fronts. One, they have probably not given whites a proper chance. Two, this event probably is not the occasion for an intervention.
White wine still has a bad reputation for a lot of wine drinkers due to the ubiquitousness of people having a “glass of Chardonnay” in the 80s. For so many people, it is not really an issue of what they like, but rather an issue of what they think they are supposed to like. I get all the time from friends who like wine but know nothing about it statements like “I only drink reds”, “this wine is too sweet” (all Riesling is too sweet, even GGs), “I like a wine that gives me a mouthful of wine”, etc., etc. There are times and places to try to fight this attitude. From the OP’s description, this does not seem like one of those times.
I agree completely with Richard and Howard — they may well like whites if they had the right ones, but this may not be the time to try to demonstrate that to them.
Or maybe you bring reds but one good white, and see if they might try a half glass of the white before going to the red, and if they don’t get into it, or decline to try it, you of course just graciously let it go.
The most common manifestation is you have company who declare that they don’t drink chardonnay and only drink sauv blanc, pinot grigio, etc. Then you pour them a white Burg, a Kutch, Copain, Arcadian, etc and they immediately say “wait a second, this is chardonnay? I actually really like this.”
It wasn’t chardonnay they disliked, it was the mass produced oaky buttery chardonnay they didn’t like, they just didn’t realize there were different and better ones out there.
I’ve seen that so many times.
I like the idea of a light bright Sangiovese here. Acid goes well with acid in the food friendly spectrum.
+1 for a rose as well and a cheers to Otto for throwing Cerasuolo on the table.
im a big fan of Arnot Roberts Trousseau here. I also really like Stolpman Love You Bunches too, or Enfield Foot Tread Rose, but id go Trousseau. Its a delicious wine does really well where whites also do well.
I do find it interesting that people will totally dismiss ‘basic’ whites, but will happily drink a basic red. It’s as if the bar is higher for whites (but then they are surprised when it is surmounted).
then it probably doesn’t matter what you bring!
Maybe bring a great white also and change some minds!
Blanc de Noirs? Tell them you’re bringing Pinot Noir…
Seriously, “lemon chicken” is such a moveable feast it’s hard to get specific.
To everyone suggesting to try to change their mind on the white - believe me, I have on more than one occasion. I am a big Chard fan and have brought several really nice Burgs at various times, none of which were met with much interest.
Not speaking to the folks I am having this meal with, but I do agree that white gets a really bad reputation amongst people who are “casual” wine drinkers.
If you were bringing red wines these folks would like and had no idea and/or no concern about what the food was, what would you bring? What are the reds they tend to like the most?
Caymus and other similar types of cabs are always a big hit, but I’m not a fan of these types of wines. They are also fans of Pinot Noir in general, which I also like (hence my initial Burg idea).
I have to say I am a bit surprised how little faith some here have in “normal people’s” ability to appreciate authentic European wines when served with matching food. I mean American people do travel to Europe, right? Do these people then struggle mightily in say Paris/Rome when served a wine from nearby regions and feel the urge to inquire for something American? In Finland the average Joe enjoys either something from Chile or a sugar’d up Italian Appassimento when given a choice but at least in my experience something like a nice, versatile Chianti Classico has been widely succesful when I have served it with meats of various kinds.
I like Zweigelt from Austria.
Lots of great suggestions here on the reds.
It really depends on the crowd. All of my friends and family know me as “the wine guy”. Regardless of their normal preferences I’ve found them quite open to my suggestions when pairing food and wine. That’s within reason - I’m typically not just going to throw an ‘89 Chinon or a skin contact wine at folks - though I have on occasion with some context/a story and the offer of something more their usual style already opened and waiting in the wings.
Regardless of how geeky I get I’ve found that if I provide on explanation on why that wine and not some other wine, and again with the offer of something more to their liking already open (so they don’t feel like they’re being held hostage), I’ve found it’s almost always well received. In fact usually I can get people thinking about food and wine in ways they never have - thinking about how the wine’s texture, structure or other characteristics make it more “food friendly”.
But, there are definitely outliers. Some people will just militantly want what they want regardless of the dish. It is what it is and I’m always happy to have something open for them as well. No reason everyone has to drink the same thing.
That’s what I was thinking. So many people have only had bad whites, all negative reinforcement of an idea. If you have a white that you think will be revelatory and go well with the food, why not bring it…in addition to the reds. I’ve encountered this so many times with a couple of the wineries I’ve poured for. If there’s a white I think will turn them on, I’ll nudge them. I have no interest in getting someone to taste a wine they won’t like. There’s no hard sell - just reading them. They already said they don’t like white wine, so “no biggie, if you don’t like it just dump it and I’ll get you the Pinot.” Almost always a mind blown, always good natured.
You could do the same. “I brought a white I think you’ll like. If you like, I’ll pour you a taste to see if it turns you on or not. No worries if it doesn’t work for you. Just dump it and we’ll get you a pour of the red.”
I get what you are saying and for sure there are hard-headed people and people who just simply cannot understand wine-food pairings no matter what. I just feel like there is a huge difference between a Beaujolais/Chianti and wines like those you mention (mature Chinon or skin contact white) and while the latter two easily fit into the category of geeky wines the former in most cases really do not. Have we really reached a point where European classics are too weird/difficult to enjoy for average American people?