bobbi2

I have had quite an indepth discussion as we always do before entertaining friends and neighbours for a repas. We are interested to know how you plan your wine list with a meal, ie potage (soup), main, desert? I am doing a true savoie dish of tartiflette which screams a local white which you simply cannot beat but would be interested to know how you plan you wines for entrees and deserts? Maybe you don't? Is interesting to know? Maybe you stick to a method traditional? I am doing a butternut squash starter and an apple style desert and for that would opt for a muscat or reisling? I know some neighbours serve a method or similar for desert?

cyrian

I have heard of do's and don'ts about wine in France and I have seen all the so-called rules broken by the French themselves.
For the apero, I offer sparkling or champagne or whisky or Ricard.
Sometimes we do not have a starter but simply offer a range of apero - charcuterie; olives; petit fours etc
I continue with sparkling or champagne plus white and red - usually local product.
With paté or fois gras I would serve sweet white - Riesling or Sauternes.
I always have water on the table.
I always offer white and red throughout the meal.
I ask the advice of the local caviste for the best wine for the dish.
I serve a quality Bordeaux with the cheese.
That is what I do and our guests have never refused what I have offered.
See what french hosts serve and use that as your guide - that is what they would expect to be offered.
The biggest problem I have is finishing off all the bottles after everyone has left

dmu

Hi, what's "method"? Maybe a sparkling wine "méthode champenoise"?
Apart from Champagne with the dessert at the end of a festive meal, OH doesn't approve of mixing wines during a meal (especially if apéritifs are served beforehand!) and will serve the same throughout, whatever's on the menu. He's not a typical Frenchman, but would suggest sticking with Vin de Savoie for the starter and Tartiflette and, since it wouldn't really go with desserts, maybe a Gewurztraminer (more fruity than Riesling) or Clairette de Die (Muscat) with your apple-based concoction?
Having said that, I think he'll have to accept white with our planned salmon starter and full-bodied red with our roast sanglier (or possibly a Beaujolais or other lighter red which MIGHT go with both....). At least we've got a week to think about it.....

bobbi2

We have just been to the Alsace region. Wish we had stocked up a little. Only have resiling left so that will have to do! I too don't like mixing wine too much with a meal. Our neighbour did this with the christmas meal one year and we didn't know whether we were coming or going. His son and his wife were also a little perplexed as his glass was still half full at the end of each course. What a waste of wine!
Method traditional is what I meant.

bobbi2

Well as we are having a tartiflette main I was planning on continuing the white for that too? Do you go red with the cheese?I was planning some nibbles then the method or champagne running into the starter?
Hmm so many variables! Have never met anyone who has a red with a tartiflette but always a first time!

cyrian

We were at friends for lunch recently and we just stayed with champagne throughout (fish main). Our host did offer red with cheese but we had consumed enough by then.
I think that you are at the opposite end of France from us (dmu also) and I think that the culture (not just wine) is different.
We had some of our neighbours for dinner recently and the ladies kept to the white and the men kept to the red throughout the evening.
I am not a great fan of riesling or gewurztraminer and personally would be less than happy if that was what I was offered throughout a meal.
If they don't like your wine then they will bring you some next time

dmu

I personally think a Beaujolais/Côtes du Rhône would go well with a tartiflette and the rest, but it's traditionally a Savoie (or Swiss) white which is served with râclette/fondue/tartiflette or any dish with cooked cheese. Normally there wouldn't be a cheese platter after a tartiflette....
I'm sure that, whatever you serve, it'll be highly appreciated and if any of the neighbours find the choice "unusual", they won't say so!

cyrian

+1
If you stick to local wines you should be fine.

petitefrancaise

oh, I feel like "Nutek" over on the USA forum.... mouth drooling! I miss french meals! i do my best here but..

I'm serving champagne at first, then sauternes with pate (not foie gras, can't get it here), duck with a nice st emilion, keep with that for cheese. And I'm debating whether to fork out $50 (!!!) for a Banyuls to have with chocolate mousse cake for dessert. Otherwise it's water on the table. I let the kids drink champomy-like drink before the meal but I insist on water for them during the meal.

Tweedpipe

I won't even start to offer choices of wines for your planned meal as there are so many variables. Even the top sommeliers would certainly differ in their choices.
These days we rarely host meals for guests, but when the occasion does arise, my rule of thumb is "keep it simple" albeit with a good red & white reserved in the cellar, and I've never forgotten an expression learned many years ago, from the French. "Blanc puis rouge, rien ne bouge; rouge puis blanc, tout fout le camp" Easy to remember as it rymes. Literally - and trying to make it ryme effectively - "White then red nothing moves (=no heads spinning), red then white, you're in for a fright."
Bon appetit.

EuroTrash

I think you have to think about your guests when you decide what wines to serve.

Oenologists run week-long courses on how to match foods and wines - but it's no good doing it all by the book and bringing out a different wine for each course, if your guests aren't particularly interested in wines and would really be happier sticking to what they know.

grannybunz

I think it has to be a Savoie white with the tartiflette. Demi-sec champagne of as has been said Clairette do Die for the dessert.

As for cheese courses in general then all I can say is it depends on the cheese. I much prefere a savignon blanc with goats' cheeses for example.

Don't start me off though I love wine, matching it and drinking it, though these days I daren't drink much red.

A couple of weeks ago we served foie gras with fig confit and pain d'épice as a starter and Grandadbunz, who has built up a rather good cellar found a bottle of Jurancon 2005 which he thought might be some years OTT,and he is trying to use up ssuch wines. It was however, utterly gorgeous.

Whatever you choose - enjoy it.

Cad

Obviously red with red meat and you can't have cheese without it to my mind, white with volaille, a Monbazillac with fois gras, think theres still a lot of snobbery with wine, some say if it's cheap it's rubbish, I say if you like it drink it.
Happy Christmas to all

Jon-Bxl

I'm going to get flamed I fear - especially on the French forum.

I agree go with what you like.

But here's the tricky bit........We think the Portuguese make the best Red+White wines (in general). As we've never had a bad one and we spend a lot of time there each year.

We've drunk some untasty (or worse) French, Italian and Spanish wines for example. And of course some wonderful ones. So if we are not sure in a resto, we will most often defer to the Portuguese wines.

We don't drink rosé (so cant comment on the few Portuguese ones) even though we are in PACA - and that also puts us outside the norm! Yesterday for our apero, there were 7 people. BH and I on red, one on white (but he also drinks rosé) and 4 on rosé

Jon

BTW we recently bought a box wine from Marche U. The Bordeaux ('élevé en fut de chêne') 5 litres. La pierre de Peysard. Wine box of the year 2016 and nicely quaffable and handy for the quantity, when guests are over for New Years celebrations. But nonetheless with a 4-6 week conservation in the bag, it'll get drunk easily without guests

bobbi2

I agree, we spent Xmas day one year with our neighbour and his family. He spent a fortune on wine with various courses and most were vile. I now don't feel bad what I serve as I have tasted some rank wines at others.