Which Wine? Expert advise?

folkface

Hi,

I am heading over to Calais soon to pick up some wine for our wedding.
Can anyone please recommend a good red and white wine?
We are having Lamb and Monkfish for the main courses.

I was thinking about a New Zealand Montana Sauvigion Blanc reserve as the white. E5.80 per Bottle i think.
And maybe a Beaujolais as the red?

Do I have to match the origin of the wines?

Has anyone any suggestions?

I'm either buying from www.sainsburyscalais.co.uk
or from http://www.majestic.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=-1

Can someone please take a look at these sites and recommend a good value wedding wine?
Our budget is no more than E6 to E7 per bottle.

BeerNut

There's no reason to match the origins, but I'd go for a red with a bit more oomph than a Beaujolais. I find the Hardy's Stamp Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon is a good general-purpose red, as is the Oxford Landing one. You can get both in supermarkets here to try before you buy a vanfull.

rediguana

I agree that Beaujolais (or even Beaujolais Villages) might be a bit lightweight with lamb at a wedding. But the Beaujolais crus - Fleurie, Moulin-a-Vent, Morgan, Saint Amour, Morgon, Julienas, Brouilly, Cotes-de-Brouilly, Chenas - would all be more substantial than regular Beaujolais. The good thing about Beaujolais is that the top-end stuff is still very reasonable. For example, it would take some effort to spend more than E20 on a Beaujolais in a shop in Ireland. Try to get 2005, it's a good vintage.

There's no need to match the countries of origin but I always like symmetry. The world already drinks enough Montana, so I'd try to get something more interesting than that.

In a nutshell, the usual advice says that lamb and Rioja Reserva is a good match. I've had this a good few times and it really is. Rioja Reserva is easily available here (E12-E22) if you want to try some before buying loads.

Monkfish? I had Chablis with some a few weeks ago and it was a nice match. I'm not sure where these wines fit into your budget - I didn't click on those links, sorry, time is money

So my five cents says:

1 - For the lamb -> Rioja Reserva, Chilean Carmenere, Moulin-a-Vent, Barbera d'Alba. These are all food-friendly reds that don't cost the earth and should be pleasant enough either on their own or with food.

2 - Monkfish -> For me, the NZ Sauvignon Blanc would be too tart for a meaty fish like monkfish. Taking into account the budget, I would look to good-value white Burgundies from the Maconnais - St. Veran, Pouilly Fuisse, Macon-Villages, Macon-Uzichy.

If you wanted something more unusual, but gorgeous, you could splash out on either Rias Baixas (Spain / Albarino) or Gruner Veltliner (Austria).

folkface

Thanks a million for your help.
I will take all this advise with me.