Rhone Wines Menu?

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey

Peter Creasey
A southern Rhone producer is bringing his wines for a dinner with himself and 100+ other people in attendance.

It would be nice to have a menu that is notably suitable (ideal?) to properly complement the Rhone wines while still being manageable by the culinary staff for so many people.

What dishes/preparations might be especially recommended to go with each of the following three Rhone wine courses?

1) White Rhone wine (probably a fish course)

2) Younger Chateauneuf du Pape (perhaps but not necessarily a fowl course)

3) Older Chateauneuf du Pape (main course)

Thanks for any/all ideas!

. . . . . Pete
 
Reasonable idea except in this case we are very glad he's coming and don't want to impose on him at this time regarding the menu details.

Once we develop a basic game plan for the menu, we can run it by him.

. . . . . Pete
 
Point noted!

I'm looking for (perhaps less well known) dishes that are generally suitable with Rhone wines such as Chateauneuf du Pape (both Blanc and Rouge). Perhaps dishes that might be particularly found in Rhone-area homes/restaurants.

. . . . . Pete
 
White Rhone wine covers a multitude of sins. It would help to know variety and elevage. If it's a white Rhone with viogner, I throw up my hands. If it has a fair amount of Rousanne and/or Marsanne, you are still going to have a perfumed wine that will be best with aperitifs on the order of foie gras, rilletes or tapenade. If it runs toward grenache blanc, white fleshed fish will work.

You've got your groupings for young and old CdP mixed up for my taste. Big young fruit holds up to game and rich red meat (lamb in preference to beef if you are doing provencale cooking). Older ones can still hold up to that but start to be better with rich fowl like duck and guinea hen (this is also a good time too sing Kill the Wabbit, Kill the Wabbit, with gusto). Save your chicken for Burgundy unless you've stuffed it with a meat and/or foie farcie.

Nothing really changes if the CdP is spoofed or oaky except that really it doesn't go with anything because you don't want to drink it.
 
Jonathan, you make good points.

I have always liked saving the drama, read: older wines, until the end. As you say, the older wines (CNdPs for example) can pair well with the heavier dishes.

I like the ideas of guinea hen and rabbit. Any specific dishes that come to mind?

. . . . . Pete
 
Pete, the older CdP I'd be more likely to serve with some sort of fowl, whereas the younger one I'd prefer with red meat such as lamb. As others have said, though, there are so many stylistic variations there that it's hard to generalize.

Mark Lipton
 
Mark, yours is a common opinion that has merit. I still like saving the drama to the end.

Having said the foregoing, I doubt seriously that we'll be able to serve 100+ people any southern Rhone wines with enough age to matter that much. When I say "older" for this event, it is only a very marginal distinction.

. . . . . Pete
 
Why should a Daube/Gardianne not be appropriate? Especially since it is a dish than can be scaled up for a large crowd very well.
 
Georg, I guess I should have been clearer.

I meant that I'm not that familiar with Gardianne; thus, my comment was intended more as an inquiry.

I'm very pleased to hear your reassurances about the dish being meritworthy for a large crowd at an upscale dinner.

If nothing else of value comes out of this thread, the idea of possibly serving a Gardianne has made it worthwhile.

. . . . . Pete
 
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