Dear all

The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the possibility
of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).

I am looking for some help with regards to creating a wine list from
scratch. As far as I am aware, none of the memers (or their wives)
are wine experts and basically anjoy a good glass (or two) of wine
with their meal. It is only a small club, and the average number of
people at evenings such as this is about 50 spread over eight or nine
tables.

Plus, we are based in England.

Some of the questions I wouldn't mind having answered a

How many different wines should we look to include? (i.e. 4 bottles of
red and white, or whatever)

Should we stick to the basic wines (I am assuming this is yes) and
maybe have one or two bottles of 'different' wines on offer.

What would be the make up of the list - for example, say the general
consensus is to have 4 wines of each type, would you have say, a
bottle of French, a bottle of Italian and two bottles of New World
(Australian, Chilean, etc) or something different (also apologies but
I'm not sure what bracket American wine comes in - is it classed under
New World?)

Plus any other tips or thoughts would be most welcome.

Many thanks in advance

Steve Flanagan

I think many Peckerheads will weigh in on this one. You will see just how
complicated a simple question can become.


"Steve Flanagan" > wrote in message
om...
> Dear all
>
> The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the possibility
> of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
> members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).
>
> I am looking for some help with regards to creating a wine list from
> scratch. As far as I am aware, none of the memers (or their wives)
> are wine experts and basically anjoy a good glass (or two) of wine
> with their meal. It is only a small club, and the average number of
> people at evenings such as this is about 50 spread over eight or nine
> tables.
>
> Plus, we are based in England.
>
> Some of the questions I wouldn't mind having answered a
>
> How many different wines should we look to include? (i.e. 4 bottles of
> red and white, or whatever)
>
> Should we stick to the basic wines (I am assuming this is yes) and
> maybe have one or two bottles of 'different' wines on offer.
>
> What would be the make up of the list - for example, say the general
> consensus is to have 4 wines of each type, would you have say, a
> bottle of French, a bottle of Italian and two bottles of New World
> (Australian, Chilean, etc) or something different (also apologies but
> I'm not sure what bracket American wine comes in - is it classed under
> New World?)
>
> Plus any other tips or thoughts would be most welcome.
>
> Many thanks in advance
>
> Steve Flanagan

"Tradher" > wrote in message
. ..
>I think many Peckerheads will weigh in on this one. You will see just how
>complicated a simple question can become.

I'm waiting
>
>

In article >, steve.
says...
>
>Dear all
>
>The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the possibility
>of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
>members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).
>
>I am looking for some help with regards to creating a wine list from
>scratch. As far as I am aware, none of the memers (or their wives)
>are wine experts and basically anjoy a good glass (or two) of wine
>with their meal. It is only a small club, and the average number of
>people at evenings such as this is about 50 spread over eight or nine
>tables.
>
>Plus, we are based in England.
>
>Some of the questions I wouldn't mind having answered a
>
>How many different wines should we look to include? (i.e. 4 bottles of
>red and white, or whatever)
>
>Should we stick to the basic wines (I am assuming this is yes) and
>maybe have one or two bottles of 'different' wines on offer.
>
>What would be the make up of the list - for example, say the general
>consensus is to have 4 wines of each type, would you have say, a
>bottle of French, a bottle of Italian and two bottles of New World
>(Australian, Chilean, etc) or something different (also apologies but
>I'm not sure what bracket American wine comes in - is it classed under
>New World?)
>
>Plus any other tips or thoughts would be most welcome.
>
>Many thanks in advance
>
>Steve Flanagan

Steve,

Sounds like a fun project. I'd suggest that you look at the wine list in two
parts.

First - take a good long look at your menu. Work with your chef to come up
with a small wine list that pairs with the food, as flawlessly as you can.
Here's the fun part - you and the staff get to hold mini-tastings of that menu
with wines that you think will work well. Pare that list down to about four,
which you (and the staff) KNOW will work well. Get your distributor to work
with you on the wines for the food. Many will even comp the wines for your
tasting exercise and should be invited to participate. Don't start out with a
preconceived notion of varietals, or place of origin. Let the menu dictate
what you try. Be brutally honest in your assessment of how well the wines work
- you want HITS, not just OKs.

Second - get to the membership and talk to them about the wines that THEY
like. You might get lucky and have some overlap from your list in part I. If
not, then pare down list 2 to about four wines with the most general appeal.
Start with the two lists being available, but maybe add your "recommendations"
for wine pairing to each dish on the menu, in hopes that the membership will
try those. Monitor the sales of the wines on your two lists carefully. If the
membership is still not buying the matched wines, you might even offer special
pricing (loss leaders) just to make sure they are actually trying these with
the food.

After you have worked with these two lists for a bit, doing everything in your
power to insure that the membership is actually trying the recommended wines,
start eliminating the wines that are not selling. Giving this method time to
work, start replacing the no-sale wines, one, maybe two, at a time, with other
wines.

Even if a food/wine match is made in Heaven, it does you no good if the
members will simply NOT buy those wines.

You could possibly end up with an all Italian list, or all French. Don't worry
about that. You are not the distributor - you are only trying to make the
members happy. Heck, you could even end up with 8 selections of White
Zinfandel (God forbid), but it THAT is what makes the members happy, so be it.

Then, you can start bringing in a "new" wine, say once a month. Offer it as a
special, and monitor its sales. Replace it with another new wine, and monitor
the requests for the old special.

Your list should be a living thing, very dynamic, to reflect new dishes that
the chef adds, or subtracts. Go for the best pairing, and see how it goes.

Most of all, have fun, and good luck,
Hunt

In article >, steve.
says...
>
>Dear all
>
>The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the possibility
>of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
>members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).
>
>I am looking for some help with regards to creating a wine list from
>scratch. As far as I am aware, none of the memers (or their wives)
>are wine experts and basically anjoy a good glass (or two) of wine
>with their meal. It is only a small club, and the average number of
>people at evenings such as this is about 50 spread over eight or nine
>tables.
>
>Plus, we are based in England.
>
>Some of the questions I wouldn't mind having answered a
>
>How many different wines should we look to include? (i.e. 4 bottles of
>red and white, or whatever)
>
>Should we stick to the basic wines (I am assuming this is yes) and
>maybe have one or two bottles of 'different' wines on offer.
>
>What would be the make up of the list - for example, say the general
>consensus is to have 4 wines of each type, would you have say, a
>bottle of French, a bottle of Italian and two bottles of New World
>(Australian, Chilean, etc) or something different (also apologies but
>I'm not sure what bracket American wine comes in - is it classed under
>New World?)
>
>Plus any other tips or thoughts would be most welcome.
>
>Many thanks in advance
>
>Steve Flanagan

Steve,

Sounds like a fun project. I'd suggest that you look at the wine list in two
parts.

First - take a good long look at your menu. Work with your chef to come up
with a small wine list that pairs with the food, as flawlessly as you can.
Here's the fun part - you and the staff get to hold mini-tastings of that menu
with wines that you think will work well. Pare that list down to about four,
which you (and the staff) KNOW will work well. Get your distributor to work
with you on the wines for the food. Many will even comp the wines for your
tasting exercise and should be invited to participate. Don't start out with a
preconceived notion of varietals, or place of origin. Let the menu dictate
what you try. Be brutally honest in your assessment of how well the wines work
- you want HITS, not just OKs.

Second - get to the membership and talk to them about the wines that THEY
like. You might get lucky and have some overlap from your list in part I. If
not, then pare down list 2 to about four wines with the most general appeal.
Start with the two lists being available, but maybe add your "recommendations"
for wine pairing to each dish on the menu, in hopes that the membership will
try those. Monitor the sales of the wines on your two lists carefully. If the
membership is still not buying the matched wines, you might even offer special
pricing (loss leaders) just to make sure they are actually trying these with
the food.

After you have worked with these two lists for a bit, doing everything in your
power to insure that the membership is actually trying the recommended wines,
start eliminating the wines that are not selling. Giving this method time to
work, start replacing the no-sale wines, one, maybe two, at a time, with other
wines.

Even if a food/wine match is made in Heaven, it does you no good if the
members will simply NOT buy those wines.

You could possibly end up with an all Italian list, or all French. Don't worry
about that. You are not the distributor - you are only trying to make the
members happy. Heck, you could even end up with 8 selections of White
Zinfandel (God forbid), but it THAT is what makes the members happy, so be it.

Then, you can start bringing in a "new" wine, say once a month. Offer it as a
special, and monitor its sales. Replace it with another new wine, and monitor
the requests for the old special.

Your list should be a living thing, very dynamic, to reflect new dishes that
the chef adds, or subtracts. Go for the best pairing, and see how it goes.

Most of all, have fun, and good luck,
Hunt

I didn't have to wait long at all.



"Hunt" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, steve.
> says...
>>
>>Dear all
>>
>>The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the possibility
>>of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
>>members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).
>>
>>I am looking for some help with regards to creating a wine list from
>>scratch. As far as I am aware, none of the memers (or their wives)
>>are wine experts and basically anjoy a good glass (or two) of wine
>>with their meal. It is only a small club, and the average number of
>>people at evenings such as this is about 50 spread over eight or nine
>>tables.
>>
>>Plus, we are based in England.
>>
>>Some of the questions I wouldn't mind having answered a
>>
>>How many different wines should we look to include? (i.e. 4 bottles of
>>red and white, or whatever)
>>
>>Should we stick to the basic wines (I am assuming this is yes) and
>>maybe have one or two bottles of 'different' wines on offer.
>>
>>What would be the make up of the list - for example, say the general
>>consensus is to have 4 wines of each type, would you have say, a
>>bottle of French, a bottle of Italian and two bottles of New World
>>(Australian, Chilean, etc) or something different (also apologies but
>>I'm not sure what bracket American wine comes in - is it classed under
>>New World?)
>>
>>Plus any other tips or thoughts would be most welcome.
>>
>>Many thanks in advance
>>
>>Steve Flanagan
>
> Steve,
>
> Sounds like a fun project. I'd suggest that you look at the wine list in
> two
> parts.
>
> First - take a good long look at your menu. Work with your chef to come up
> with a small wine list that pairs with the food, as flawlessly as you can.
> Here's the fun part - you and the staff get to hold mini-tastings of that
> menu
> with wines that you think will work well. Pare that list down to about
> four,
> which you (and the staff) KNOW will work well. Get your distributor to
> work
> with you on the wines for the food. Many will even comp the wines for your
> tasting exercise and should be invited to participate. Don't start out
> with a
> preconceived notion of varietals, or place of origin. Let the menu dictate
> what you try. Be brutally honest in your assessment of how well the wines
> work
> - you want HITS, not just OKs.
>
> Second - get to the membership and talk to them about the wines that THEY
> like. You might get lucky and have some overlap from your list in part I.
> If
> not, then pare down list 2 to about four wines with the most general
> appeal.
> Start with the two lists being available, but maybe add your
> "recommendations"
> for wine pairing to each dish on the menu, in hopes that the membership
> will
> try those. Monitor the sales of the wines on your two lists carefully. If
> the
> membership is still not buying the matched wines, you might even offer
> special
> pricing (loss leaders) just to make sure they are actually trying these
> with
> the food.
>
> After you have worked with these two lists for a bit, doing everything in
> your
> power to insure that the membership is actually trying the recommended
> wines,
> start eliminating the wines that are not selling. Giving this method time
> to
> work, start replacing the no-sale wines, one, maybe two, at a time, with
> other
> wines.
>
> Even if a food/wine match is made in Heaven, it does you no good if the
> members will simply NOT buy those wines.
>
> You could possibly end up with an all Italian list, or all French. Don't
> worry
> about that. You are not the distributor - you are only trying to make the
> members happy. Heck, you could even end up with 8 selections of White
> Zinfandel (God forbid), but it THAT is what makes the members happy, so be
> it.
>
> Then, you can start bringing in a "new" wine, say once a month. Offer it
> as a
> special, and monitor its sales. Replace it with another new wine, and
> monitor
> the requests for the old special.
>
> Your list should be a living thing, very dynamic, to reflect new dishes
> that
> the chef adds, or subtracts. Go for the best pairing, and see how it goes.
>
> Most of all, have fun, and good luck,
> Hunt
>

I didn't have to wait long at all.



"Hunt" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, steve.
> says...
>>
>>Dear all
>>
>>The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the possibility
>>of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
>>members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).
>>
>>I am looking for some help with regards to creating a wine list from
>>scratch. As far as I am aware, none of the memers (or their wives)
>>are wine experts and basically anjoy a good glass (or two) of wine
>>with their meal. It is only a small club, and the average number of
>>people at evenings such as this is about 50 spread over eight or nine
>>tables.
>>
>>Plus, we are based in England.
>>
>>Some of the questions I wouldn't mind having answered a
>>
>>How many different wines should we look to include? (i.e. 4 bottles of
>>red and white, or whatever)
>>
>>Should we stick to the basic wines (I am assuming this is yes) and
>>maybe have one or two bottles of 'different' wines on offer.
>>
>>What would be the make up of the list - for example, say the general
>>consensus is to have 4 wines of each type, would you have say, a
>>bottle of French, a bottle of Italian and two bottles of New World
>>(Australian, Chilean, etc) or something different (also apologies but
>>I'm not sure what bracket American wine comes in - is it classed under
>>New World?)
>>
>>Plus any other tips or thoughts would be most welcome.
>>
>>Many thanks in advance
>>
>>Steve Flanagan
>
> Steve,
>
> Sounds like a fun project. I'd suggest that you look at the wine list in
> two
> parts.
>
> First - take a good long look at your menu. Work with your chef to come up
> with a small wine list that pairs with the food, as flawlessly as you can.
> Here's the fun part - you and the staff get to hold mini-tastings of that
> menu
> with wines that you think will work well. Pare that list down to about
> four,
> which you (and the staff) KNOW will work well. Get your distributor to
> work
> with you on the wines for the food. Many will even comp the wines for your
> tasting exercise and should be invited to participate. Don't start out
> with a
> preconceived notion of varietals, or place of origin. Let the menu dictate
> what you try. Be brutally honest in your assessment of how well the wines
> work
> - you want HITS, not just OKs.
>
> Second - get to the membership and talk to them about the wines that THEY
> like. You might get lucky and have some overlap from your list in part I.
> If
> not, then pare down list 2 to about four wines with the most general
> appeal.
> Start with the two lists being available, but maybe add your
> "recommendations"
> for wine pairing to each dish on the menu, in hopes that the membership
> will
> try those. Monitor the sales of the wines on your two lists carefully. If
> the
> membership is still not buying the matched wines, you might even offer
> special
> pricing (loss leaders) just to make sure they are actually trying these
> with
> the food.
>
> After you have worked with these two lists for a bit, doing everything in
> your
> power to insure that the membership is actually trying the recommended
> wines,
> start eliminating the wines that are not selling. Giving this method time
> to
> work, start replacing the no-sale wines, one, maybe two, at a time, with
> other
> wines.
>
> Even if a food/wine match is made in Heaven, it does you no good if the
> members will simply NOT buy those wines.
>
> You could possibly end up with an all Italian list, or all French. Don't
> worry
> about that. You are not the distributor - you are only trying to make the
> members happy. Heck, you could even end up with 8 selections of White
> Zinfandel (God forbid), but it THAT is what makes the members happy, so be
> it.
>
> Then, you can start bringing in a "new" wine, say once a month. Offer it
> as a
> special, and monitor its sales. Replace it with another new wine, and
> monitor
> the requests for the old special.
>
> Your list should be a living thing, very dynamic, to reflect new dishes
> that
> the chef adds, or subtracts. Go for the best pairing, and see how it goes.
>
> Most of all, have fun, and good luck,
> Hunt
>

Steve-
There are a lot of great and inexpensive Austrian wines available in
England. I'd suggest trying one Gruner Veltliner for your list, if your
membership is at all adventurous. It's known for pairing well with many
different foods.
-e

Salut/Hi Steve Flanagan,

le/on 12 Apr 2005 03:16:52 -0700, tu disais/you said:-

>The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the possibility
>of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
>members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).

By that, do you mean you're looking to buy some wines to keep in stock so
that you can offer a small choice to members at these occasions?

--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
mailbox full to avoid spam. try me at website

Ian Hoare > wrote in message >. ..
> Salut/Hi Steve Flanagan,
>
> le/on 12 Apr 2005 03:16:52 -0700, tu disais/you said:-
>
> >The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the possibility
> >of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
> >members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).
>
> By that, do you mean you're looking to buy some wines to keep in stock so
> that you can offer a small choice to members at these occasions?

Yes Ian we are. Unfortunately, none of us are anywhere near being
reasonably experienced when it comes to things like this, hence, my
original posting.

Personally, I'm a red wine person (especially with Italian food which
I adore, and steaks, etc), whilst some people prefer a white wine (not
too keen on white wine myself - except for Retsina with a nice Greek
Salad on a hot summer evening in the garden)

I suppose what we are looking for is a nice range of wines to have on
stock at the gatherings I mentioned.

I must thank Hunt for his/her thoughts. Very interesting and very
enlightning, however, we don't have a dedicated chef to be honest.
The catering is provided for by a group of ladies from the local
church who do a very nice meal which is usually along the lines of:

Starter - usually soup which changes all the time
Main - Roast dinner seems to be the favourite with a mixture of beef
and lamb, although they have done a very nice roast gammon in the past
as well.
Dessert - Lemon Meringue and Fruit Salad seem to be the main choices -
although sometimes a trifle is added as well.
Following dessert there is a cheese board (including French cheeses,
Edam, Stilton and then a white and red cheese) - although personally I
prefer to have a port with mine.

I should have added that to my original message - apologies.

Personally, I think it is a good idea as the only wine we sell at the
moment is single measure bottles and, asically, it's 1 white and 1
red, but we are lookig to branch out a bit.

What we want is a small list of wines that will go well with the menu
above, are fairly cheap to buy whilst also being good (i.e. basically
we don't want to buy a bottle of "vinegar" just beacuse it's cheap).
We're not looking for a massive margin on the wine, just something
that the members can buy which they will probably enjoy with what's on
offer.

Cheers

Steve

On 13 Apr 2005 04:56:57 -0700, (Steve Flanagan) said:

[]
] I suppose what we are looking for is a nice range of wines to have on
] stock at the gatherings I mentioned.
[]
] I should have added that to my original message - apologies.
]
] Personally, I think it is a good idea as the only wine we sell at the
] moment is single measure bottles and, asically, it's 1 white and 1
] red, but we are lookig to branch out a bit.
]
] What we want is a small list of wines that will go well with the menu
] above, are fairly cheap to buy whilst also being good (i.e. basically
] we don't want to buy a bottle of "vinegar" just beacuse it's cheap).
] We're not looking for a massive margin on the wine, just something
] that the members can buy which they will probably enjoy with what's on
] offer.

Hi Steve,

My experience with clubs is not huge, but what little I have is that by and
large you should keep things simple. Most members won't want to
explore or go into details, they just want a little choice. At the Bohemian
club in SF most dinners are "red or white", offering IIRC Ravenswood Vintners
Blend Zin and St Supery (forgive bad spellings please) Sauvignon Blanc. The
Friars in NY offers a little more choice but everything is reasonable and
nothing is exotic.

So advice: you personally, or your comittee or whoever, will have to taste
a few bottles. Hard duty. I'd aim for 3 or 4 red and an equal number of
whites. For red, say a chianti, an inexpensive fruit forward aussie shiraz,
a cotes du rhone and something like the Ravenswood or something spanish
to remind folks of that nice vacation. For whites, try for a NZ sauvignon blanc,
an american or aussie chardonnay, an entre-deux-mers, something german
and a bit sweet.

Go for friendly, supple wines without heavy tannins, that are made to drink
now. Pay attention to price, going 10-20 pounds resale. Buy small enough
quantities so that if a wine doesn't work you can change the list easily.

As for specifics, you'll need to see what local sales are available, from there
we could advise you further.

HTH

-E
--
Emery Davis
You can reply to
by removing the well known companies

There are, I believe, agencies that serve the restaurant trade. I would
try to contact one of them.

Steve Flanagan wrote:
> Dear all
>
> The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the
possibility
> of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
> members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).
>
> I am looking for some help with regards to creating a wine list from
> scratch. As far as I am aware, none of the memers (or their wives)
> are wine experts and basically anjoy a good glass (or two) of wine
> with their meal. It is only a small club, and the average number of
> people at evenings such as this is about 50 spread over eight or nine
> tables.
>
> Plus, we are based in England.
>
> Some of the questions I wouldn't mind having answered a
>
> How many different wines should we look to include? (i.e. 4 bottles
of
> red and white, or whatever)
>
> Should we stick to the basic wines (I am assuming this is yes) and
> maybe have one or two bottles of 'different' wines on offer.
>
> What would be the make up of the list - for example, say the general
> consensus is to have 4 wines of each type, would you have say, a
> bottle of French, a bottle of Italian and two bottles of New World
> (Australian, Chilean, etc) or something different (also apologies but
> I'm not sure what bracket American wine comes in - is it classed
under
> New World?)
>
> Plus any other tips or thoughts would be most welcome.
>
> Many thanks in advance
>
> Steve Flanagan

Steve Flanagan wrote:

> What we want is a small list of wines that will go well with the menu
> above, are fairly cheap to buy whilst also being good (i.e. basically
> we don't want to buy a bottle of "vinegar" just beacuse it's cheap).
> We're not looking for a massive margin on the wine, just something
> that the members can buy which they will probably enjoy with what's on
> offer.

OK. What I'd suggest is to take a cue from the wine lists of
restaurants and focus on the lower price range with perhaps 1-2
"splurge" wines for those so inclined. A small list might be:

sparkling wine - Spanish cava, Italian prosecco and/or NV Champagne
crisp white - Sauvignon blanc from NZ or the Loire
rich, dry white - Chardonnay from Oz or CA
off dry white - German Riesling (maybe a kabinett and a Spätlese)

light red - Beaujolais
med bodied red - Chianti or other Italian red
fruit forward red - Aussie Shiraz or CA Zinfandel
full bodied red - minor Bordeaux (maybe a more fancy claret as a splurge)

You might also have a sherry and/or Port for the fortified wine
drinkers, especially if you can serve by the glass. For specific wines,
you'd need to find a retailer who could supply you and see what they
have on hand and recommend. It helps if your retailer is both
knowledgable and honest, so find one who comes recommended.

HTH
Mark Lipton

On 12 Apr 2005 03:16:52 -0700, (Steve
Flanagan) wrote:

>The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the possibility
>of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
>members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).

I'd suggest that you form a relationship with a local wine merchant.
I am sure you could find one that was prepared to recommend wines and
keep you supplied. Talk to a few and choose one you get along with.
I'd start by contacting any small independent merchant in the area,
Majestic should also be able to help I guess, or maybe Oddbins.

Where are you based? We might be able to recommend shops.

--
Steve Slatcher
http://pobox.com/~steve.slatcher

Salut/Hi Steve Flanagan,

le/on 13 Apr 2005 04:56:57 -0700, tu disais/you said:-

>Ian Hoare > wrote in message >. ..
>> Salut/Hi Steve Flanagan,
>>
>> le/on 12 Apr 2005 03:16:52 -0700, tu disais/you said:-
>>
>> >The small sports club I am treasurer of are looking at the possibility
>> >of introducing a wine list for the more formal gatherings of the
>> >members (Ladies nights, Annual dinner, etc).
>>
>> By that, do you mean you're looking to buy some wines to keep in stock so
>> that you can offer a small choice to members at these occasions?
>
>Yes Ian we are. Unfortunately, none of us are anywhere near being
>reasonably experienced when it comes to things like this, hence, my
>original posting.

Thanks very much for coming back. That's a great help, as is the expanded
information on the sort of food to be expected.

>I suppose what we are looking for is a nice range of wines to have on
>stock at the gatherings I mentioned.

>The catering is provided for by a group of ladies from the local
>church who do a very nice meal which is usually along the lines of:
>
>Starter - usually soup which changes all the time
>Main - Roast dinner seems to be the favourite with a mixture of beef
>and lamb, although they have done a very nice roast gammon in the past
>as well.
>Dessert - Lemon Meringue and Fruit Salad seem to be the main choices -
>although sometimes a trifle is added as well.
>Following dessert there is a cheese board (including French cheeses,
>Edam, Stilton and then a white and red cheese) - although personally I
>prefer to have a port with mine.

GREAT. That's just the sort of information that we can get our teeth into.

Soups. Most wines don't go very well, though with a clear soup, like a
consommé or a french onion soup (I know, but it counts!) at a pinch a dry
madeira goes pretty well. I'd not bother to get one just for that. Have a
bottle of sherry - not in large quantities - and offer it by the glass as a
pre-prandial which will not come to much harm when served with the soup!

For other starters, a moderate weight white will do fine, as Steve (I think)
suggested, places like Oddbins or (shock horror) Tesco's will have a pretty
good choice. If you want to get as much as a case (12) of wine at a time,
ask about case discounts, you might just as well take an extra 10% or so if
it's going. As to what... I live in France, so my choice will be fairly
irrelevant to yours. Read "Good Food" and see what they recommend. There's a
TON of good suggestions there. Otherwise, the specific suggestions are
excellent. I like the idea of a choice of 3-4, and the types suggested are
fine. You may like to look to Hungary for good vfm Sauvignon Blanc and
Chardonnay whites, by the way. An interesting white from there if you can
find it, is Tokaji Furmint.


Red meats. I'm with Mark and Emery on this. You could do a lot worse than to
get a lightish red for gammon (here I drink a good quality Bergerac Pink
served chilled). The gamay grape makes quite a lot, but there's plenty of
other from all over.

Desserts.
Forget wine. No that's not quite true - I adore sweet wines, with dessert
and cheese, but it's hard to get good ones and extremely hard to get a good
match. I'll get shouted at, but Bera make a wonderful sparkling Moscato
d'Asti, I don't know if it's available in the UK. If not, ask around, these
wines are perfect dessert wines, though bad ones are frightful. Another type
of wine to look at is a sweet sherry/Malmsey madeira. They really don't go
badly with trifle and they keep opened, so sell by the glass very well.
Taylors LBV port is splendid for the Stilton!

Hope that helps.

And consider the BBC Good Food Mag, they usually have plenty of good
suggestions.
--
All the Best
Ian Hoare
http://www.souvigne.com
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