I know nothing about wine, but I’m having a special dinner tonight.
Here is the menu and wine list. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a045de28c56a825eddffe9d/t/5c2f96e1aa4a99a6e5d5b094/1546622698174/Casa+Menu+Oct+2018+Allergens+v5.pdf
I prefer dry white wine, I will be ordering a pasta dish, probably the lasagne. Price isn’t important, I don’t know what my dining companion will order.
You didn’t say which lasagna you’re getting. If it’s the traditional one, the Barbera (red) would go well. The Gavi (white) would go well with the vegetable lasagna. Those are both by the bottle. You don’t really have a lot of good choices by the glass. If it were me and I didn’t want a bottle I would have the house wine. Pinot Grigio (the only white besides the house white available by the glass) won’t go well with most of that menu.
I like dry whites, but with pasta there’s just something about Chianti that I love. Get a bottle of Chianti, and some sambucca with an espresso after your meal.
There’s no real information about any of the wines, and I’m hardly an expert anyway, though I love wine. So here’s would I would say.
Almost everything on that menu demands a red wine, IMHO. OK, maybe for the Tagliatelle salmon & prawns in a cream and dill sauce I’d pick the mid-range Chardonnay. Otherwise, if it was me, knowing nothing else than what was presented on the menu, I’d go with the Chianti.
If your dining partner has a preference for white wine, then by all means go with that. White wine is actually compatible with almost anything, it just lacks the gastronomical goodness of a nice red that enhances both the wine and the food where it’s appropriate, which in fact is most foods except very light delicate ones.
Assuming a meat lasagna with a red sauce then, from that menu, the Barbera is the only real (good) choice (the Chianti would not be a bad choice either). Basically full-bodied reds are the go-to for this.
If the vegetable lasagna then the Chardonnay.
That said the real best choice is whatever you want. If you do not like reds and prefer whites then do that.
It looks like I’ll go with the red wine. I have a £50 voucher and I want to treat my friend so I definitely want to get a bottle.
It’s funny, my parents are wine drinkers, I grew up as a beer and spirits drinker so I have wine maybe once a year. I’m utterly clueless about wine even though I could talk your ear off about beers.
I just wanted to say that I don’t think I have ever seen a restaurant with such a large list of food allergens on menu.
Have a different wine with each course. So a glass of one wine with your antipasti and a bottle of another wine with your pasta or pizza.
Of the wines they list, the Sauvignon Blanc is a safe choice for the white and of the reds I’ve particularly enjoyed Primitivo and Montepulciano - I’m surprised they don’t offer the latter by the bottle.
The “Rosso Conero” is made almost entirely from Montepulciano grapes. http://www.foodtourist.com/ftguide/Content/I3345.htm
Which I didn’t know until I looked it up just now. I’m not strong with Italian wines.
The Mandarossa Fiano looks interesting too, though I think the Barbera would be much better with a lasagna with lots of tomato and bechamel. Mandrarossa | PalmBay
Another wine I had to look up, though. The tasting notes—once you get through the wine marketing bullshit—sound interesting to me:
Have fun!
How about :
MY SOUP IS TOO C-O-O-O-O-O-LD!