Well, temperature here is in the upper 20's, time for comfort food. Arrived home today and mrs. mbansek had made some beef stroganoff. It was just hitting the table when I walked in (have to love that timing).

Too late to open a wine to go with this, but I am thoroughly confused as to what to try with it anyway!? Since I am sure this is not the last time this winter we will have this dish, any suggestions?

And to preempt Stemor, I am looking for wine suggestions, not cardiologist recommendations...

And eating it did allow time for a 2001 Melville Estate Pinot to breathe, tasting notes to come...

Mike

A good southern Rhone will work very well with Beef Strog.

I agree. I have had many reds when having a stripped down version of this dish (hamburger stroganoff instead of beef).

My favorite wine with comfort food like this is a hearty Corbieres Rouge, such as Fontsainte Reserve (will set you back a whopping $12). The earthy, mushroomy character of a Corbieres is just made for this sort of thing.

Cote de Beaunes style Pinot Noir (or the real thing).

Lot's of interesting ideas so far, keep them coming. I will use them as a shopping list, where necessary, and post TNs once I pair them.

Thanks.

Mike

I was also thinking Southern Rhone. Perhaps a '99 Guigal CdP? I hear that it's pretty good ...

I have to say CdP with Beef Stroganoff really does not sound that appetizing to me.

Would that be the 99 Guigal that I saw last month that cost $19 or the one I recently saw for $40 - BTW does anybody know what the diffrence between these two wines is?

All Joking aside, this is a dish that I would play opposites with. I would try to balance out the richness with some good acidity. I like Barbera here for the grip and lack of wood contact (though some more expensive bottles are getting oak). A great food wine.

TCK

I was thinking a decent Gigondas. Mayhap even a decent Cote du Rhone.

rich dish. do like in burgundy and pair it with a pinot noir.

save the southern rhones for a southern rhone type of dish.

just my thoughts.

I have had Pinot Noir with this dish and it pairs really well. Then again, I have had other red with this that work well, too -- usually cab-based blends.

On another cold night last night, mrs. mbansek decided to make the beef stroganoff again. So, off I went to the cellar to try out a couple of these ideas.

Opened both a 1999 Montirius Gigondas and a 2000 Martinelli Three Colts pinot. The Three Colts was silky smooth, but did not particularly pair well with this dish. Fruits were dominant, and went nice with the sauce, but the lack of any earthy notes made the meat taste harsh.

The Montirius, on the other hand, went much better on this night. More earthy notes, and the tannins were not as noticeable when paired, compared to when I drank it afterwards by itself. The background fruits of this wine jumped out when paired with the sauce, and the earthy and spice notes pulled together the meat.

Thanks for the suggestion Jeremy. I will continue to experiment with other wines with the stroganoff as the weather cooperates. I especially want to try to find Eric's suggestion, and maybe try some other pinots with it too. And Barbera, and...

Mike

It goes fairly well with Cornas also. I remember a little tavern in Tutu Kaka (Prounounced Toot tu CAR-Car)and they let me bring my own ( a rarity anywhere in NZ pubs.) because they didn't have any French wine on the list. This pub was renowned for it's Beef strog and geez it was good with the Cornas. Having said that I don't know if that was because the beef was feral beef or just because it was a good match.