I belong to a group that gets together 4 - 5 times to have one of us cook a meal and everyone pulls out the wines they've got squirrelled away for that special occasion that never seems to come - so we make them happen.
Sometimes we choose a theme, or a general whatever-you-want sort of tasting, but recently we have been telling each participant what one of the courses will be and asking them to nominate several possible wine choices they could supply to go with the food. This gives them something to think about, and gives the 'organizer' some choices so they can assemble a coherent wine event. I thought that it might be fun to post some of the combinations here to see what others think.
I'll post two of the courses I am doing, with the wines that have been 'offered' and you tell me which ones you'd pick (I'll give you my choices once I've mulled it over and decided).
First course: Salmon and asparagus baked in phyllo.
Suggested wines:
2000 Moreau Grand Cru Chablis 'Valmur'
1999 Weinbach Sclossberg Riesling
2002 Javillier Savigny Les Beaunes 'Montchenevoy'
Second course: Mushroom soup with hazelnut gremolata and wild mushrooms (sauteed and added at the end)
Suggested wines:
1999 Jacques Prieur Volnay Champans
1999 Jean Luc Colombo Cornas Les Ruchets
1996 Muga Prado Enea Rioja Gran Reserva
With such a wide array of possible wine choices, this bears thinking about. If you were giving this dinner, which ones would you choose?