Help me plan a wine list!

[samus]

That is tremendous, thank you so much. I plan to scoop up the 4 bottles of vermentino if I can, and those too are less than $30 so I'll have some more flexibility.

From a more general standpoint, what sort of distribution should I look at? 2 vermentino, 2 (other white), and maybe 2 each of three different kinds of red? or should I get more bottles of fewer types, so that the whole table can have the same? I'm not sure if there's a convention for this sort of thing...

Thanks once again for all this help!

 

[gomestar]

inspired by this thread, I picked up the Costamolino vermentino tonight. I still think the Guado al Tasso is the better wine, confirmed for my palate.

Distribution is a hard guess. You could do a bunch of the same wines, or throw a bunch of varied bottles out there, or take control a little and start with 2 whites, open 2 more a little later, then the light/medium reds, medium reds, and finish off with the big B's as the entrees are in full force. It's all up to you, just be sure to grab some good swigs of the big ones.

 

[samus]

Originally Posted by gomestar

It's all up to you, just be sure to grab some good swigs of the big ones.

This made something occur to me - I'm no expert on decanting. (1) How necessary do you feel that would be for the wines on your list, and (2) is that something that a typical BYOB would be willing to handle, or would that be, well, pedantic, for lack of a better word?

(aside: right now it looks like the Brunello and Chianti you suggested are the only of your list that are in Philly - but I think that ought to cover my event quite nicely).

 

[samus]

Well, I posted that before reading your post from the wine threak:

I find that most reds can really benefit from decanting. And, as a little science has proven, the cheaper ones can especially benefit as the less desireable compound break down from the oxygen before the good fruit compounds.

In any event, I still wonder about the necessity for those particular wines, and the restaurant question. Thanks!

 

[gomestar]

for the wines, it's a little tougher to make specific suggestions, so be sure to visit the biggest store you can (there were some decent ones on Chestnut, but nothing brilliant) and ask the people in the store for recommendations.

Decanting - young Brunello does benefit from a good decant to open up and soften the edges a little. Doing so in the restuarant probably wouldn't make much of a difference, your best bet would be to pour it in a decanter in the morning, then use a funnel to return it to the bottle for transportation. But, if the logistics behind it are difficult, I wouldn't sweat it too much. And even as BYOB, you would still want to tip on the bottle accordingly.

You're not out to please a school of wine-os and you'll probably have plenty of other stuff to focus on for the evening, so don't worry about it. Odds are there will be too much going on during dinner to really focus on the wine.