I'm interested in what wines you like to pair with game. Lately I've started drinking wine, especially with meals.

Well good deal, there is nothing like some good wine to make dinner better.

I do not have any magic way of paring wine with wild game, just use what I like.

We eat a fair amount of wild game at my house and I especially like to have a big bold red like a zinfandel with venison or elk. A cabernet or merlot works fine as well.

With wild pork I usually serve red, but occasionally go with a white, especially chardonnay.

With birds I kind of pick and choose. If serving a dark meat like duck or dove, I will usually have a red. With quail I almost always serve a white.

But hey, with wine you should just drink what you like.
I for one just cannot stand syrah while my friends think it is the best thing going.

Like today, it is not wild game, but I am going to barbecue some nice pork tenderloins. I will have a red and a white on the table for people to choose from.

Have fun,

R F

My wife is from Italy. Every visit finds several bottles returning in my luggage. Customs has hand checked me several times but never said anything about the amount I bring back ( 6 to 8 bottles for each of us )
Santa Margarita Pino Grigo is my favorite. I just opened a bottle a half hour ago

If you live in an area with good wine stores, you might want to look for Slovenian wines. Slovenia is a mountainous region in useta be Eastern Europe, but near Albania, so it is similar to Italy in climate.

When I managed a liquor department in Chicago, I managed to pick up several cases of Slovenian Zinfandel and Chardonnay that wouldn't sell. I believe I paid 96 cents a bottle, and was shocked at the quality of the wine. It was as good a wine as I have ever consumed. Those cases are long gone, now, but wished I could find some more.

In my opinion, the best wine for game meat of all kinds is made from the Pinot Noir grape (French red Burgundies). Its expansive yet earthy flavors complement the taste of game like no other wine does.

Merlots and Cabernets (Bordeaux), Sirahs (Rhone), Zinfandels, and similarly heavy wines work with roasted meats, the former being more austere while the latter being more fruity. I like Beaujolais for white meat game birds (and Beaujolais Nouveau is great with the Thanksgiving turkey), but prefer the sturdier Pinot Noirs for duck and goose. Depending on the method of preparation, Beaujolais or Pinot Noir also go well with pork dishes.

Eric,

So the Australian Pinot Noir I have drunk is just a fancified name for "Burgundy?" I agree, though, it IS good stuff!

Cristal champagne before the meal. 1985 Chateau Margaux with any red meat. I don't give a hoot for whites; too sharp for my tastes. Franken with the dessert.

So, where are you getting Frankenwein? Also, I've heard there are sweet, dessert-type Franken, but the Volkach/Schweinfurt/Unter-eisenheim region that I'm familiar with, is by and large very getrocken, or dry.

I think pheasant with a Franken Sylvaner Kabinett would be very good. Is there a particular region of Franken you are fond of?

CrazyQuick,
base rules are +/- simple white wines with hors d'oeuvre and fish, red wines with meats, and, usually, Venison is paired with red wine, full-bodied and important.

Demi sec or sweet sparkling wines with dessert and cakes, Brut sparkling wines for special meals or special occasions.

If I think at the red wines Italian production, I take in consideration wines like Barolo, Nebbiolo (Piemonte region), Chianti or Brunello(Toscana region), or wines from Veneto, Trentino or Friuli regions, but always full-bodied and important.
Hope that it can help.
bye

I have a bottle of Biltmore Estate (thats about 2 hours from my home, in NC) Chateau Reserve 2000 Cabernet Savignon, just waiting for some good grilled venison to serve with it.

I also have a bottle of Cab Sav from Romania, but I haven't been fixing any red meat lately.