... is for Wine Recommendations
... is for Wine Recommendations
Camerata ’ s new General Manager CHRIS POLDOIAN is also certified sommelier and a member of the Houston Sommelier Association . In his position at Camerata , he brings experience in the Houston market and a vast understanding for the hospitality industry . So , what would he serve guests at his own Super Bowl party ?
CP : I ’ m generally that guy that will pick wine over beer , so at parties where I ’ m drinking over the course of four or five hours , I try to make sure my options are relatively low alcohol . Four glasses of 12.5 % Gamay are very different than 16.2 % Zinfandel .
When in doubt , I almost always bust open a bottle of Riesling . Most of the food at a Super Bowl party is gonna have some spice or sweetness , so you need a wine that can balance out those bolder flavors as you jump from Flamin ’ Hot Cheetos ® to guacamole to buffalo wings . A good Riesling will help reset your palate for the next bite . For a reasonably priced option , there ’ s Günther Steinmetz , which conveniently is sold in liter bottles . If you ’ re looking for something effervescent to work with some of the saltier dishes , check out the Sekt made by Austrian producer Szigeti . And if you want to support a domestic winery , Hermann Wiemer has been producing quality Riesling from the Finger Lakes in New York for over thirty years .
A ripe , fruit-driven Gamay works wonders with typical Super Bowl snacks . Spice and salt are exacerbated by high alcohol and tannin , so if you drink red wine , stick to something lighter and brighter . A slightly chilled glass of Marcel Lapierre ’ s Raisins Gaulois is what I want to drink with chili or with nachos . Grown on granite soils in the Beaujolais , Lapierre ’ s grapes are left on the vine as long as possible , resulting in gushingly ripe fruit .
If there ’ s a steak , or someone just really wants that big , full-bodied red , I ’ ll probably reach for a bottle of Syrah . I ’ m usually drawn to the taut , barbed wired elegance of Northern Rhône Syrahs , but for the red-blooded adrenaline of the Super Bowl , I ’ d probably go for something a little more broad and fruit-driven . I find that Piedrasassi ’ s Santa Barbara Syrah is always a crowd-pleaser . That wine has a stewed fig and olive flavor with a big balsamic backbone . At Houston ’ s Restaurant , this wine is what I always recommended for guests to drink with their barbecue pork ribs . On Super Bowl Sunday , any sweet , red-sauced protein or piece of charred meat will do wonders with this wine .
Photography by Max Burkhalter
60 LOCAL | january 17