How to Pick Wines for Dates ft. @BowtiedWineGuy

Every Good Lothario Should know his Reds from his Whites

What’s up guys, today we have a guest post from a newer face in the Jungle, @BowtiedWineGuy.

The dude has been putting out solid content on all things wine, and he graciously put together this guide covering EVERYTHING you need to know about selecting wines for dates.

If you enjoyed this content, and would like more, please give him a follow on twitter.

I appreciate BowtiedWineGuy going out of his way for typing out this solid solid stack, I can honestly say this is one all of you should bookmark as a quick reference prior to your dates.

With that said, let’s get started 🫡

How To Pick Wines For Dates

There’s nothing like drinks and dinner for date night.

It’s classic and will never go out of style. When it comes to drinks and dinner, nothing is classier, or pairs better with your meal than a good bottle of wine.

Sounds easy, but if you’ve ever been to a decent liquor store (or even more daunting, an actual wine store), you know the choices can be overwhelming.

Fear no longer. I am here to help you pick the right wine for your date. For those of you getting right to the good stuff, and having drinks without the food, I have you covered as well! I am going to stay away from recommending specific bottles, since selection can vary dramatically in stores, and I don’t want to get you caught up in something too specific. Following these guidelines will ensure success at any store with a decent selection.

Day Drinking

Without Food or a Light Lunch/Snack

If you are drinking during the day without food, you need to go white.

We’re looking for a crisp, light body, with relatively low alcohol. (Don’t get caught up in the ABV; almost all will hover around 13%. We’re looking more at the structure here.)

Super expensive wines tend to made with food in mind, so you don’t need to break the bank here. Anything in the $20-40 range will be fine. 

Your best bet is Riesling, and the best region for this situation is Germany. The good thing about German Rieslings is that they range from bone dry to super sweet. German labels will tell you how sweet the wine will be.

Look for one of these words (in order from driest to sweetest): Trocken, Halbtrocken, Kabinett, Spatlese, Auslee, Beerenauslese, Eiswein, Trockenbeerenauslese.

You want drier wines during the day without food, but if your date loves sweet, you know what you need to do.

Next, look for the specific region. The Mosel (“Mosel-Saar-Ruwer”) and Rhein regions are supreme. Wines like this should be opened young, so you probably won’t see anything older than 2019.

If you don’t want to go Riesling, try Chenin Blanc. It’s another crisp, light wine, but a bit more profound than Riesling. Savennieres (France) or South Africa are the regions to look for.

Rosé is also an excellent choice, but that tends to be better for the summer. If you live somewhere where it’s still warm, you can absolutely go rosé. Provence is easily the best rose region, and any $20-30 bottle will do just fine.

Editor’s Note: Bitches looooooooooooooooooooooooove Rosé. Highly recommend, especially if sitting poolside. Bonus points if these are frozen.

With Food

If you’re having a light lunch, stick with white.

If you’re having a heavier lunch, and going home after, just read the dinner section and apply those rules here.

The easy call is Sauvignon Blanc. It’s crisp and light and is versatile when pairing with food. For region, look for Sancerre (Loire Valley, France).

Like Germany, France has tells on its labels. They denote quality, rather than sweetness. An AOC, or AC, is a guarantee that the wine follows the strictest rules and regulations (a big deal in France).

Additionally, “Grand Vin” indicates this is the top wine of the estate, and “Grand or Premier (sometimes written as “1er”) Cru” indicate the superior areas and bottles of the estate (premier being better than grand).

Stay with a younger wine – 2019 and up. 

Night Drinking

Without Food

Right to the good stuff!

Whether you’re staying in, or heading to a bar for drinks, red wine is the way to go at night.

Like the whites, stay away from anything too full-bodied.

Pinot Noir is an obvious choice here, but we’re going to specify a region, and let you seem cool and knowledgeable in the process – Willamette Valley, Oregon.

This is an absolute gem for Pinot Noir.

Burgundy, France also makes superb Pinot, but they tend to be more complex.

The Oregon style will be light and more straightforward; better for enjoying without food. Most of these will be young. Stay within 2-5 years of aging. $30-50 should give you something excellent.

If you don’t to go Pinot, try a Chilean Merlot.

It will be more medium-bodied, compared the light body of Pinot, but still give you the straightforward fruit to make for an easy drinking experience.

Another opportunity to look cool here – you can explain how Chilean wine has been on the come up since the 1990’s and still doesn’t get the respect it deserves.

No need to worry about a specific region of Chile for this one. Some people have their favorites, but there is not a distinguished one worth specifically looking for.

Price range again is $30-50, though maybe a bit cheaper than the Pinot.

With Dinner

This is where it gets fun. There are so many possible combinations out there, it will be impossible to hit them all, so I’ll stick with a few key guidelines. 

If you’re going all out, and plan on having courses and drinking more than one bottle with dinner, bring a white (Sauvignon Blanc – read above) to have with appetizers, and then red or white with the main course.

What you choose will depend on what you’re having.

The rest of this section will focus on the main course only. So, the one bottle you bring may not pair with your appetizer, but it’s fine! Relax and enjoy.

This gives you an opportunity to appreciate how well it pairs with the main course after trying it with appetizers.

Italian

Italian food absolutely needs to be paired with Italian wine. This is non-negotiable.

Editor’s Note: THIS IS NON NEGOTIABLE. Out of respect for my italian gran, don’t dare do otherwise.

Almost any Italian wine is made with food in mind. For any kind of pasta dishes with a tomato sauce, you want to go on the lighter side, so look for Valpolicella or Chianti.

If the pasta is more cream-based, go with Pinot Grigio. If you’re going heavier, more meat-based dishes, go with Barolo or Brunello di Montalcino (the best recent years for these two are 2016, 2015, 2010, 2008, 2006, and 2001).

This is asking for a lot of planning. You don’t always know exactly what you’re going to order. So if you’re bringing your own bottles, I’d go with Barolo or Brunello di Montalcino.

If you get pasta, you’ll be fine, and those two are too good to pass up. 

Steak

Cabernet Sauvignon is the easy choice here, and the best region for steak is Bordeaux (France). Steak requires a full body to hold up to it, and Bordeaux is going to give the complexity for a great pairing.

Napa can work, but those wines are much more fruit forward, and can take away from the nuances of a great steak. You’re better off going with Napa if you’re having burgers instead. Anything aged up to 10 years should do the trick.

If you don’t want to go Bordeaux, you can go with an Australian Shiraz. This once again, will have the fullness and complexity to pair with the richness of the meal. 

Editor’s Note: I really like a Malbec or Tempranillo to pair with red meat. Personal preference, might be because I like a little Latin Flair.

Seafood

Seafood can be a broad category so let’s look at some highlights. Any kind of shellfish, shrimp, mussels, clams, etc. should be paired with Sauvignon Blanc. The same goes for sushi.

You’ll probably want to go with New Zealand for these dishes. It’s a bit lighter and crisper than Sancerre and will cut through the fat of the fish fantastically.

If you’re having cooked seafood, then it will depend on the sauce. If it’s a creamy sauce, go with a white Burgundy. There’s lots you can pair with salmon and tuna, but Chardonnay goes quite well. And I say that because, like Italian, there are clearly many options.

It may be hard to know exactly what you’ll have beforehand. So your best bets are Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay (New Zealand and Australia, respectively). They will offer the most diversity.

Thai or Indian

“Off-dry” whites are the move here. Some German Rieslings (Halbtrocken or Kabinett) will work just fine, but you can also go with one of my personal favorites – Gewurztraminer.

This is going to be a bit fuller than a Sauvignon Blanc, which will help to offset some of the spice. It’s also a fun grape that many haven’t heard of, so you can pull the “trust me on this one”. 

Pizza

You better be in New York or New Jersey if you’re doing this (just kidding… kind of). It’s not typically thought of as a meal you pair with wine, but there is a specific blend, sometimes even referred to as pizza wine, called GSM (Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre).

It can sometimes be found as a Rhone blend. The light body, with the high alcohol and acidity, pairs perfectly with the fat from the cheese (and meat if you go with a topping).

France is a fine region for this but look for Paso Robles. It’s bolder than its French counterpart, allowing it to hold up to the pizza better. Young wines are fine here. 

Cheese Plates

Good luck.

Seriously. Wine and cheese make for great pairings, but there’s such a wide range, there’s no way you’ll be able to hit them all.

Blue cheese goes with tawny port, cheddar with Bordeaux, brie with Beaujolais, goat cheese with Sauvignon Blanc. Just pick something you like and don’t overthink it. 

Movie Night with Popcorn

You might not have been expecting this one. But the classic date does have a classic pairing.

California Chardonnay.

The somewhat medium body of this, with the fruity notes, makes for a great pairing with the salt and butter of the popcorn. This is a very underrated combo and it gives you another reason to invite your date over for a movie. 

Dessert/Sweet Foods

Your wine should always be sweeter than your food. Don’t believe me? Save some of your wine from dinner. Then take a bite of your dessert and take a sip of that same wine. The taste will be completely overwhelmed by the sweetness.

So for desserts, you need to stick to dessert wine (funny how that works). For this we are looking at port wines, Muscat (Australia), and Moscato (Italy).

There are many different ways to pair these with deserts, but they should all work with a wide range.

And there you have it!

We’ve pretty much covered all of our bases here, so you have no excuse not to show off your expertise and leadership skills. Don’t worry about it being perfect. Just follow the guidelines I’ve given, and you’ll be ahead of 90% of everyone else.

Enjoy!

Closing Remarks

Many many many thanks to Wine Guy for his write up.

He did an excellent job in not just talking about wine, but also giving you an idea of different date options you might encounter as well.

Seriously stellar stuff!