House Wines

We have lots of wine in our house. Sometimes, the decision as to what to open for dinner is overwhelming. Red or white? From which region of the world? Which grape variety? Heavy-bodied or light? Under $10 or more expensive? Sometimes, it's just too much.

That's why I always keep some "house wines" on hand. They're easy to find, value-priced, and drinkable with just about everything. So, make your life more simple. Discover and create your own house wine list and make sure you always have a bottle or two of each stashed away.

As I've said before, wine is a subjective thing. Everyone has different tastes, and there's simply no reason to drink a glass of wine you don't enjoy--no matter what the critics (or anyone else) have said about it. So, I'm going to give you several examples of what is on our house wine list and why. Hopefully, it will inspire to do your own exploration to find the wines you like most and will drink most often.

I think it's important to have variety, so you'll see our house wines include several different varietals and flavor profiles. That way we don't fall into the rut of the same old glass of white (or red) night after night.

For most Americans, Chardonnay is a natural pick for their house wine list. It's approachable and easy to pair with foods. We have a couple that we keep in inventory at all times.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Chardonnay
This wine runs about $11 a bottle. It's creamy with lots of tropical fruit, including pineapple and even banana. Buttery and slightly oaky, it's good with most chicken and fish dishes. And pastas with cream sauces.

Sebastiani Chardonnay
This also has some oak, but has great pear and green apple flavors. It's also an easy match with lighter foods. It's around $13.

(Shopping hint: The difference between $8 and $12 or $13 wines is vast. Trade up if your budget can handle it. Your palate will appreciate it. Plus, if you shop carefully, you can often undercut the prices listed on most sites. The prices I cite here come most often from Wine Spectator magazine. However, you can easily find these wines for 20 or 30 percent less at your local wine and grocery stores. And you can always watch for your house wines to be on sale.)

Two other Chardonnays to consider that we buy quite often are Chateau Souverain ($14) and Blackstone ($11).

I also like to keep a Sauvignon Blanc or two on hand. They're even lighter that Chardonnay, and their acidity and slight sweetness can help offset the heat of a spicy dish. Here are two we buy often to keep on inventory.

Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc
From New Zealand, this racy wine has lime and tropical fruit flavors, but is also pretty grassy. A good wine for those of us who don't like our wines too sweet. At $18 a bottle, it's a little more expensive, but the quality makes it well-worth it.

Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc
At $16 a bottle, this wine is also a bit out of our house wine price range. (However, it is a consistent favorite of critics and sommeliers.) It's complex with citrus, pear and herbal notes. Also not too sweet. (Like the Spy Valley, you pay a little more for the quality and higher dryness factor.)

Another option is Chateau Souverain Sauvignon Blanc at $14 a bottle.

I think it's great to always have a bottle of fizzy wine on hand also. It's not just for celebrations, but also for those times you want something different. It pairs surprisingly well with foods too (strangely enough, it's great with lighter fried foods), so pop the cork and enjoy. Our value-priced favorite is Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut. At 10 bucks a bottle, this Spanish sparkler is both crisp and creamy.

Now, on to reds. We keep three or four red house wines on hand. Different body styles that can be called on depending on whether we're having tuna (great with Pinot Noir) or something heavier like beef (which calls for a Syrah or heavier red).

Sebastiani Pinot Noir
This is a great value Pinot at $15 a bottle. (From personal experience, I can tell you that most Pinot Noirs in the $10 and under range simply aren't very drinkable.) It's got cherry, vanilla and mushroomy earthiness that make it great with pork or pastas with red sauce (especially if there's mushrooms or rosemary involved in the dish itself). (By the way, notice that Sebastiani, as well as Columbia Crest, shows up a couple of times on our house wine list. It's a lesson you might apply. If you like one of a particular winery's wines, try some of its other varietals. Usually, the quality is consistent.)

Rosenblum Vintner's Cuvee Zinfandel
I was once told that to buy a quality red Zinfandel, you simply needed to remember the "three r's." Ravenswood, Ridge and Rosenblum. Uniformly, they're all pretty good, but this one is a steal at $10. Zinfandel is always a wine that I associate with black pepper, and while this one doens't have as much as higher-priced ones, it's well-balanced with bright cherry and plum fruit flavors. Yummy with pizza, barbecue or a good burger.

To round out the list, we include two from outside the United States. Crios de Susana Balbo Syrah/Bonarda. At $15 a bottle from Argentina, its pepper and smoky blackberry flavors are perfect with something like pot roast or braised short ribs. Also on hand is Las Rocas Garnacha from Spain. It's one of the best values out there at $8 (!), and one that noted wine critic Robert Parker has heaped praise on in the last couple of years. Blackberry and almost pruny plum flavors make it quite drinkable and great with all sorts of full-flavored meals. (I am proud enough of it that I use it quite often as birthday and other-occasion gifts.) A confession: I'm sipping a glass of it right now.

But perhaps the best value red wine on our house list is Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot. It's available everywhere, including your grocery stores, and costs around 10 buckaroos. But it's plush and spicy and would probably stand up to a grilled steak if you wanted it to. Best food/wine pairing I EVER had was a glass of this wine with a bacon and tomato sandwich. I'm not kidding.

So, get out there, pop a cork or two (or more) and do the research on your own house wine list. Pick what YOU like and choose some reds, whites and sparklers that you can keep on hand for any occasion and any food. Most Europeans wouldn't consider having a meal without a glass or bottle of (usually value-priced) wine. It's a tradition I think Americans should embrace much more fully.

Just as every restaurant's wine list is different, every household's is too. I hope you'll let me know your best finds. (Especially if they are value-priced steals!) I just might adopt them for my own house list.