In just a few hours my home will be filled with the sounds of arriving out-of-towners. My in-laws are coming for a brief visit before heading across the country to spend Thanksgiving with their grand kids. This will be our last set of visitors for the year and we’ve been planning meals for the past several weeks. My husband is a wonderful cook so we picked foods that are not only indicative of the area but foods that we’ve really perfected.

I feel it’s more important to match the weight of the wine and the spices in the food than matching white wine with “white” (think meat and sauces) foods and red with “red” foods. Below are just a few of the pairings for this week.

Hardy’s Nottage Hill Shiraz 2012 SE Australia
I recently received this wine as a sample. Aromatic black fruit, currant, spice and leather. Medium to full bodied blackberry, plum flavors, firm tannins and a lingering vanilla finish. After a few minutes in the glass the take on complex earthy and spicy flavors.
While I don’t have another bottle on hand if I did, I would pair with breakfast for dinner we’re planning for Sunday night. Slow cooked corned beef made into a hash, served with our fresh from the coop eggs.

Chateau Ste. Michelle Columbia Valley Riesling 2011
Citrus and tropical aromas, honey and pineapple flavors with hints of green apple and peach provide for a lingering finish.
Pair with pork schnitzel with potato pancakes and braised cabbage. The citrus helps cut through the heaviness of the fried foods and leaves the palate feeling refreshed and clean.

Trader Joe’s RSVP Brut Sparkling Wine
Made in the Methode Champenoise the dry wine has fine bubbles with flavors of crisp apples and toast. This sparkling is my go to “everyday” sparkling; it’s also my go to sparkling wine with visitors. The $5.99 price drinks like a much more pricy wine and visitors are always enjoy the tiny bubbles.
Pair with southern chicken and dumplings.
Earlier this week I slow cooked a whole chicken and hours later we were rewarded with 5 quarts of wonderful golden chicken stock. The toasty flavors pair wonderfully with the Umami flavors in the creamy chicken and dumplings.

Dead Bolt Winemakers Blend CA 2011
The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Petit Sirah and Shiraz. Aromas of rich dark fruits cassis and blackberry. Medium to full bodied, firm tannins with lush plum, black cherry flavors and a lingering vanilla finish.
We’ll pair this with our handmade pizza. We make the dough using flour from Nora Mill Granary, located in Helen, GA. Built in 1876 the mill is housed in a four-story building with 1,500 pound French Burr Mill Stones. During the grinding process you can watch the great stone wheel ground grains and corn.
We’re making two pizzas. One a cheeseburger pizza with ground bison, cheddar cheese and of course pickles. The second our famous (ok, maybe only to people we’ve made it for) Reuben pizza. If there’s any of the slow cooked corned beef brisket left we’ll use that. If not, I’ve got deli sliced and we’ll add Swiss cheese and sauerkraut a top a mustard base. Trust me, it’s delicious.

It is the Holiday Season and that usually means out of town guests that will be expecting more than just that one main meal. While the food is important, in my house the wine is just as important and sometimes helps you get through the time with guests.