Here is the wine list for the Italian place I'm having my wedding dinner at. In addition to pasta they also serve a lot of steak and seafood. Help me pick a red and a white!
White:
>Riondo Prosecco DOC (Split) - Italy 9 --
This vintage brut prosecco exhibits a smooth and lively fruit-balanced nose that erupts from the glass. The Italians refer to it as ‘frizzante’ because of its light bubbles.
>Beringer White Zinfandel - California 5.5 20
An uncomplicated wine to accompany any meal.
>Folinari Pinot Grigio - Italy 6.5 24
From one of Italy’s finest wine making facilities comes one of the top imports
to America of this varietal. A greatly enjoyable, easy drinking Pinot Grigio.
>Sivas - Sonoma - Sauvignon Blanc - California 8 27
Fragrant with aromas of lime, kiwi and white tropical fruits and just a dash of minerality. This Sauvignon Blanc is medium-bodied yet focused, crisp and clean, with a bright refreshing finish that lingers pleasantly.
>Fünf Moscato - Germany 6.5 24
Fresh, sweet flavors of juicy tropical fruit. Refreshingly sweet but not overbearing.
Well balanced with a clean finish.
>Gen 5 Chardonnay - California 7.5 25
A very friendly Chardonnay, with juicy tropical fruit flavors, a hint of creaminess, and a long, bright finish. 100% Sustainably farmed. 25% aged with new French and American oak for 6 months.
>Kendall Jackson Chardonnay - California 9 34
Mango and pineapple flavors with aromas of peach, apple, and pear.
>AZ Stronghold Dayden Rose - Arizona 7.25 23
Dry rosé that balances vibrant fruit with racy acidity. Offers zesty floral aromas of watermelon and spice, with layered strawberry and mineral flavors.
>BEX Riesling - Germany 7 23
This Riesling shows aromas of lemon cream, orange marmalade, and honey-suckle flowers. On the palate, enjoy fresh tangerine and apricot fruit notes with a hint of whipped cream.
(red wines in next post)
Old World Reds:
>Il Bastardo Table Red Rosso di Toscana - Italy 6 22
At Tony Soprano’s table, this would be a hit! An unpretentious red table wine.
Great with spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, and chicken Parmesan.
>Chianti Classico DOCG (Banfi) - Tuscany -- 35
Ruby red in color. Intense bouquet with notes of cherries, plums, and violets. Rich flavors of cherry and leather. Supple tannins and good acidity.
>La Maialina Chianti - Tuscany 7.5 28
Ruby red, with bright aromas and flavors of red cherries and ripe strawberries
with hints of sweet spices and a soft finish.
>Anciano Tempranillo - Spain 7 23
Anciano wines are matured for years in cellars stacked floor to ceiling with oak barrels. This slow,
controlled maturation guarantees the perfect balance between ripe fruit and mellow oak character. Sweet
cherry under ripe raisin on a perfectly relaxed frame being completely mature with light peppery underlay.
>Masi Campofiorin Valpolicella - Italy -- 38
Using the rippaso method, also known as double fermentation, this young wine is soaked and passed through skins of left over Amarone, leaving a rich, full-flavored wine usually at a good price. These wines are sometimes referred to as “baby Amarone.”
(last of the reds continued in next post)
>>7642892
Dynamic Reds:
>Meiomi Pinot Noir - California -- 38
This fantastic Pinot Noir is produced by a fifth generation wine maker. It carries aromas of tobacco, dark red fruits and fresh berries. The rich cherry flavor is complemented by notes of cedar, raspberry and strawberry.
>McManis Pinot Noir - California 7 23
This Pinot Noir is light purple in color with a lustrous hue. Ripe Strawberry, Cherry and Raspberry aromas are joined by a cream and Vanilla bouquet.
>Dos Cabezas Red Blend - Arizona 10 37
Mostly Grenache. On the nose strawberry, slight earthy quality, with a tickle of tannin. The Sangoivese helps to add a lot of depth in this wine.
>Simple Life Pinot Noir - California 8 27
This winery is four generations of family wine makers. The Sebastiani family produces this rich, aromatic, and spicy blend of fruits finished with a silky smooth texture.
>Velvet Devil Merlot - Washington 8 26
Classic Merlot aromas of dark cherries, cedar, pipe tobacco. Anise, stone and cherry blossoms.
>6th Sense Syrah - California 9.5 31
Farmed sustainably. Super-saturated, big and juicy, it makes a bright, tangy impact. Full of flavor in the same deep-red tones as the aromas, tannins are tame.
The mid-palate offers plum and blackberry, with a touch of mulberry.
>Klinker Brick ‘Old Vine’ Zinfandel - California -- 41
With aromas of black cherry, cedar shavings, vanilla and spice, this wine offers rich, supple flavors of cherries and plum, perfect balance and a long, smooth, lingering finish.
>Predator Old Vine Zinfandel - California 9 29
Predator Zinfandel is sourced from 50+year old vines that produce rich and intensely flavored fruit.
>Terrazas Malbec - Argentina 8 27
From the Mendoza region of the Andes mountains come this delicious grape varietal. Intense aromas and soft smooth flavors. The ideal attitude in Malbec.
>Elsa Bianchi Malbec - Argentina 7 25
Exhibits aromas of ripe plum and violets, with hints of vanilla.
>>7642903
And Finally:
>Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon - California 7 25
Inspired by the legend of King Arthur, this Cabernet is produced for the soul of those who agree it is the King of red wines. California blends of grapes, mostly from Paso Robles, with Alexander Valley Merlot, make this wine juicy and fruit-forward with a great finish.
>The Show Cabernet Sauvignon - California 8.5 32
An abundance of great aromas and flavors fill this classic wine.
>Sebastiani Sonoma Cabernet Sauvignon - California -- 39
This was an exceptional vintage. Complex and earthy, the finish is long and beautiful with firmly integrated tannins.
Horrible list, Denny's tier plonk. Can't you just supply your own wine?
Second cheapest is the way to go.
>all these wines described as "unpretentious"
This is shorthand for "this wine sucked so bad nobody else would buy it so we're unloading it on rubes who think wine is pretentious"
Good cheap wine exists, but you're not going to find it from a place that talks down their wines as a sales pitch.
Wow, that's a terrible list. The only thing on it I would willingly drink is the Banfi Cianti Classico, and even that would be my fourth choice from a place with a passable list.
Seriously, you're dealing with people who do not know wine.
>>7642938
It makes me wonder about the food too. I bet it's one of those places where instead of a simple menu of well executed dishes, it's like a 12 page menu with an index and everything tastes like hamburger helper.
>>7642951
Or it could just be people who don't know wine and trust the sales rep to tell them what the "top sellers" are. But shit like il Bastardo in a restaurant? When I see that in a wine shop I take it as a sign they don't give a fuck or their customers don't. At a restaurant it really makes me think of this:
>>7642917
>Denny's tier plonk.
and that's an awful thing to say about anybody's wine list.
>>7642985
No, I'm 99% sure it's a one of those Darden group joints that flyovers eat at when they want to have a "big night out", they could undoubtedly afford top-tier beverage industry consultants if they wanted (and they probably did), but they know that inexpensive diamond-in-the-rough wines aren't possible if you're going to print 20,000 copies of a menu and distribute it to 2,500 locations nationwide. So they need to pick actual garbage that won't run out, but will be available for the foreseeable future. Not underpriced high-value indie vigneron stuff from some up-and-coming wine region made of underappreciated indigenous varietals.
They know their customers aren't going to know the difference, which is why the descriptions are padded with qualifiers like "totally straight-shooting, normal average joe wine! your friends won't beat you up if you order this". Not for wine drinkers. On the contrary, for people who think wine is for special occasions and putting on airs.
If they legitimately didn't give a fuck it would be like 5 wines total, and it would be whatever the distributor had on hand. They give a fuck, just not about the quality of the wine. They give a fuck about ensuring a predictable experience for all customers of whatever-the-fuck restaurant that is, so you can walk into the location in the Skokie Westfield Mall, or the location in the Cleveland Heights Westfield Mall, or the Temacula Westfield Mall, or the Eden Prairie Westfield Mall, and it will all be seamless, and reassuringly identical.
A wedding needs sparkling wine, so it almost has to be the prosecco by default
or do both prosecco and maybe the pinot grigio
for red I would get one of the chiantis because it will go with pretty much everything on the menu
>>7643021
It is in a tourist town, but it's not a chain restaurant. Here is the website: http://nicsaz.com/
>>7642951
Thankfully, no, haha. It's not five star but it definitely isn't Applebees tier.
Thank you for the help so far, I know next to nothing about wine and didn't know the list was so crappy! Thankfully bottles of wine coincidentally are half off on Wednesdays, the day of the dinner. So at least there's that?
OP here. So the reisling and the moscato they offer are both crap? My fiance and I generally like them. Never tried either of these though:
>Fünf Moscato - Germany 6.5 24
Fresh, sweet flavors of juicy tropical fruit. Refreshingly sweet but not overbearing.
Well balanced with a clean finish.
>BEX Riesling - Germany 7 23
This Riesling shows aromas of lemon cream, orange marmalade, and honey-suckle flowers. On the palate, enjoy fresh tangerine and apricot fruit notes with a hint of whipped cream.
>>7643226
Never had it but BEX Riesling has some decent reviews.
>>7642877
Do they really all taste that different? I've drank all sorts of wine and couldn't tell the difference.
Not OP but my gf loves white wine. Either sauvignon blanc or pinot grigio. I know jack shit about wine (other than the fact I dont really like it). What are some good wines for like $60 if thats even a thing
>>7642904
>Inspired by the legend of King Arthur
Only thing on this list that's any good is the Meiomi Pinot
But why the fuck would you get a pinot like that in an italian place
Dont they have any good italian red's? What the fuck
If that's all you can get and it's set in stone, the Chianti Classico for red. THe whites are just atrocious tho holy shit
>>7643672
>Only thing on this list that's any good is the Meiomi Pinot
Popular and good aren't the same thing anon.
Meiomi is a textbook example of california industrial oak-and-megapurple syrup. It tastes nothing like pinot noir, mostly because it isn't meant to taste like pinot noir. It's meant to give off familiar reassuring cues of "fine wine" to people who don't actually know anything about fine wine, but who think "inky opaque purple in color" and "smells like vanilla from across the room" are desirable characteristics in a pinot noir.
You could put an aussie shiraz label on it and no one would bat an eye, either because they don't know what that tastes like either, or because, quite possibly, that's what it actually is.
sample all of them and pick the one you like the most
>>7643578
$60 is getting into collectible wine territory, you're way past diminishing returns except for some unusual wines like sherries, madeiras, and such. I don't even think it's possible to find $60 pinot grigio as such. Some exceptional pinot gris (Alsatian), but it won't be the same style of wine despite being the same grape.
>>7643226
It's a matter of knowing your crowd, not showing off your expertise in wine. Serve something you like. Everything on that list is the usual suspects that sell reasonably well in the US market - the kinds of wines people who usually drink soda will enjoy at a fancy dinner. If that's most of your crowd you're set. Just pick what you like and go with it.
It would be pretentious to try to show off a knowledge of wine you don't really have. And I'm guessing few of your guests know anything about wine either, and those who do are not going to turn their noses up at free wine.
The point is that you wouldn't have bothered to type up such a poor list and post it here. Your friends and family know you. They don't expect you to suddenly be wine experts. They expect you to throw a good party so they can celebrate your marriage. My guess is you will. Stop sweating the wine.
>not a single burgundy on the list
fuck your american pinot noir
>>7646226
There are perfectly good american pinot noirs. None of them are on that list though.
