When we have dinner parties I always like to put out some wines to start the evening off with, to lead into the main wine or wines later on with our meal.  I believe the wines with the meal are the most important, but I would not want any of my guests to die of thirst until then.  If you start off with a Chateau Petrus where do you go from there?

The first two wines are popular priced Chardonnays and both of 2011 vintage.  I have found that this year has been very good for Chardonnay wines here in the states.  The first wine that I will discuss is Chateau Ste. Michelle from the Columbia Valley in Washington State.  It was a very pleasant wine that worked well with appetizers and some of the cheeses that we always set out on the table.

The other Chardonnay that I started off another evening with was La Crema from the Sonoma Coast of California.  This is from a big producer of Chardonnay wine and I really like the taste of it.  It is not mind blowing, but a good dependable wine that I am not afraid to serve my friends.  Either of these two wines have been our dinner wine at some restaurants that are not adventurous with their wine selections.

The third wine that I will discuss is a red wine that sounded intriguing.  It is from the Burger Family Rietvallei Estate Wine company from Robertson, South Africa.  The wine was a blend of 75% Shiraz, 20% Petit Verdot and 5% Viognier.  Since I enjoy Shiraz and Viognier wines I thought what is not to like about this bottle.  It was a very nice red, not as heavy as some Shiraz wines that I have had, but perhaps this was from the blending.  There was some fruit and some spice, and I found that a nice mix with the appetizers.  Some times I can not always find the exact wine again, but I can always find something that I hope will be similar, which is the beauty and enjoyment of wines.