your wine was so bad the host drank LaCroix instead

We’re kicking off with a fondue story from Sophia:

At least once a month I wake up thinking about how I once brought the wrong wine to dinner in 2018. I went to a well-respected wine store, sought out a seasoned-looking employee, gave him an overview of the meal, and spent $50 on a nicely labeled red wine. That was where I went wrong — as my host told me when I arrived — Swiss fondue is always served with white wine.

Note from Megumi: You certainly can pair fondue with red! Go with something light and acidic, like pinot noir.

Sophia and I are back with the third installment in our pairing series. Now that you know the basics of taste and pairing strategies, let’s put it all to the test:

it’s time to buy a wine and win the dinner party.

The Approach

Your ultimate goal is to bring a wine that is within your budget, pairs well with the menu and/or would be an interesting pre- or post-meal option. Before you set out on your journey, determine:

1. Pairing: What is on the menu? Text the host, for godsakes.

2. Budget: How much do you like these people? How much are you willing to spend to impress them?

3. Vibe: Is this a casual weeknight or a birthday dinner for your friend-of-a-friend who’s kind of a snob?

4. Sequencing: What are others bringing? How late do you expect this to go? Do you want to bring a wine for the beginning, middle, or end of the evening?

Wine Pricing 101

You can find a good wine for $6 or for $600, and everything in between. The price is not necessarily an indicator of quality, but rather a reflection of the cost of production and marketing, which can vary greatly across producers based on their size and brand power.

$20+ is a general rule for a quality wine. Under that, you’re gambling. Sometimes you win (hello, $13 Vinho Verde), but more often, you just get flat, sad juice with additives in a cute bottle. Next time you look at a bottle of 2 buck chuck at Trader Joe’s, consider: why and how is it so cheap?

The Process

How to navigate the wine store

Every wine and and liquor store has roughly the same layout — even though alcohol regulations vary by state.

1. Pull out your map: stores are usually organized by color (white, orange, rose, red, sparkling), region, and varietal

2. The best stuff is placed where it is hardest to break: either unreachable on the top shelf or close to the ground

3. Give a good brief:  include your budget, likes/dislikes, and your ideal pairing strategy (e.g., creamy white that will go with the roasted salmon for under $30)

Dissect the labels

You’re not just shopping, you’re investigating. Here’s how to know you’ve got a good one on your hands:

1. More specificity = more promise: The more specific the grape and region, the more likely it’s not mass-produced supermarket filler

2. Alphabet soup: labels like AOC, DOC, DOCG, AOP mean the producer played by strict regional rules. It’s not a guarantee of greatness, but it means someone was watching.

3. Obscure grapes, big value: don’t be scared off by a blend of weird grapes you’ve never heard of. That’s where the value is hiding

4. Check the importer: importers are the literary agents of the wine world — some have taste, some are just in it for the money. If you start to recognize an importer you like, follow their trail. 

5. Peruse the staff picks: do you trust a staff pick in your local bookstore? Or are they trying to unload dusty inventory? Pay attention to who’s recommending what.

Investment Framework

We spent some time in our local wine stores (in New York and Kansas City) and charted out where we’d spend — and not spend — our money.

Perfect Pairs for Classic Dinner Party Fare

Here are some our favorite pairings — if you want to play it safe or shake it up.

We’ll be back in two weeks with the final issue of this series (for now…):
Ordering wine in a restaurant without panicking.

See you soon!

Cheers,

Sophia & Megumi

P.S. If the host is that wine friend (they have a rack of Bordeauxs set aside for special occasions, they shudder at the thought of a boxed wine, and they check to see if you hold their (not cheap) wine glasses by the stem), just ask. Ask them what they think would work well — and their favorite wine store. Or bring dessert.

P.P.S. Come have a glass (or 8) with us! I’m hosting Wine, Women & Wisdom: Off the Beaten Palate with Cab Franc Forward next Thursday, August 28th at 5:30 pm in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Use “MTC20” for $20 off.