Netscape Forum Poll: Best match with corned beef and cabbage?

[Robin Garr]

St. Patrick's Day is coming up on Saturday, and with it all the old Irish-American traditions including corned beef and cabbage. Except perhaps for Guinness or green beer, this feast can be a difficult wine match, so we're asking your advice. Click to our Netscape/CompuServe WineLovers Community poll and tell us your pick!

<b>Click here to vote!</b>

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I would treat this as an Austrian/Central European dish, knowing that that's probably a workable approximation. Beef makes me think red, but cabbage sure makes me think white. Accordingly, I'd go either for a good Blaufränkisch or a nice Grüner.

We've had best success with the so-called Field Reds.

[David M. Bueker]

Mosel Riesling - at least the bottles are green!

I don't know how you cook the cabbage, but I do know that NZ sauv blanc goes very well with cabbage - either raw in coleslaw, or braised (sauteed) and delicious when cooked with onion and fennel seed.
But I must admit I haven't tried it with corned beef. Might just give it a go and report back.
What else do you serve with the corned beef - do you have a mustard sauce?
Cheers,
Sue

Alsatian or German Riesling. Or perhaps a Gruner, as was suggested.

Lucien Albrecht from Alsace also produces an inexpensive Pinot Blanc that makes a great match with cabbage and would probably work well with corned beef.

If the corned beef is salty, I'd probably go for something with a bright acidity.

I just had a rather delicious 1990 Domaine de Vieux Telegraphe La Crau, Chateauneuf du Pape that had a delicious taste of dill on its finish which would marry well with the cabbage. The rest of the wine would handle the corned beef. It was a wonderful food wine, and if I had another bottle, I wouldn't hesitate to bring it out for St. Paddy's Day.

You guys beat me to the punch. Have we learned nothing? When in doubt, GRüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüüNER VELTLINER to the rescue!!!

What else do you serve with the corned beef - do you have a mustard sauce?
Cheers,
Sue

Um - can anyone answer this?

Sue, I serve a 50/50 blend of mustard and honey on the side.

Sue,
I cook the corned beef at barely a simmer for several hours, then remove it shallow roasting pan. While then cooking the potaotes, carrots and cabbage in the broth, I dissolve brown sugar in a bit of the broth, mix it with mustard and brush it on the corned beef, which then gets roasted in a medium oven until the veggies are done. BTW - I have to dig out my Mom's recipe for Irish Soda Bread tonight - it has raisins and carraway seeds.
I'll probably be serving my home made Riesling to those who prefer that over Guiness.
Also - here's a link to Celia's Homemade Irish Cream Liqueur

I'm with the consensus on this one. My first pick would be an Alsace Pinot Blanc; second would be a Gru Vee.

If it's gotta be red I'd go with a Schiava (Vernatsch is such an unappealing name). From the Alto Adige (does it grow anywhere else?) Light, bright, almost no tannin. It'll get the job done.

These are the times that I'm glad my small amount of Irish roots occured in Ireland, so I have a legitimate excuse to avoid corned beef and cabbage!

Alsatian or German Riesling. Or perhaps a Gruner, as was suggested.

Lucien Albrecht from Alsace also produces an inexpensive Pinot Blanc that makes a great match with cabbage and would probably work well with corned beef.

If the corned beef is salty, I'd probably go for something with a bright acidity.

Indeed, we went with the 05 Lucien Albrecht Pinot Blanc Cuvee Balthazaar ($13) and it was a nice match. Nice aroma of pears. Good acidity to go with the food.

I'm still of the opinion that sauvignon blanc is really the only decent match for cabbage although a pinot gris we opened (Montana East Coast Pinot Gris 2006) went rather well with the whole dish of corned beef, mustard sauce, mashed spuds and cabbage. I also rather liked a chardonnay - believe it or not - made by Spencer Hill and yummy with my corned beef and mustard sauce.
A medium riesling was a disaster and so were a couple of reds - the cabbage seems to introduce mercapten characters to the wine.
Having made corned beef and cabagge, I'm not likely to blend that combination of ingredients again. Thank goodness it is only Americans that have this wierd combo for St Pat's Day.