Birdie
Good for you. A recent NYT's article, plagarized by a few here, suggested the Alsatians were too much for a long dinner as they are mostly very "big" and some folks will be fast asleep before the pie and coffee.
My FR family is from Alsace and I have been drinking them for 40+ years.
M

Bennie
Please don't give up on the German wines.
They are a bit complicated - as an example, a '01 Robt. Weil QbA Riesling was liquid steel and a great palate cleansing wine with a Feast Sankt Hubertus (Venison, Squab, wild mushrooms and other great stuff), while the '01 Mosel Spatlese are very delicious for breakfast and not much else - just joking.
Also, the typical breakdown of the QmP's - the better wines - Kab, Spat, Aus, etc. are really variable from region to region. Some take them to full dryness (Trocken) with 12+% etoh and others leave residual sugars of a few % and low etoh of 8 - 10%.
They were good values and fairly priced before the USD tanked in the last couple of years.
They are still good values in Germany as the US market mark up is outrageous.
M

Thanks, Kim! I'd appreciate it.

Patrick and Hazel, I understand what you're saying, but as someone who is a wine novice, I found the pairing ideas helpful. The Riesling I served yesterday went really well with everything on the table, so it was a good choice for us.

Lee Ann

Lee Ann, have you ever tasted Viognier? It's a very nice white wine that I love. I prefer the sweeter Viogniers. I found a blow-out sale on our recent Madera Wine trail tour. We purchased an entire case for only $24 of the Chumeia Viognier (Paso Robles) that is a sister winery to Simpson in Madera.

I will be giving some bottles away for Christmas present. (shhh! Don't tell anyone what I paid for it! lol) ***kim*** ((l))

No, Kim, I haven't tried that one yet. So many wines, so little time and money... :-)

Lee Ann

Last night we had an R Stuart Big Fire Pinot Noir with our turkey leftovers. We found it for only $17/bottle at the Wine Haus in Seaside, OR. It was fantastic!

We'll be taking our Rex Hill Reserve Pinot Noir to the Wine Cask to have with our anniverary dinner next week.

Lee Ann, check out www.maderavintners.com for your upcoming visit to the area. Great website with lists of wineries and even a wine trail map. ***kim*** ((l))

Honig Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley) at $13.99 fits your price point. Our family enjoyed it for Thanksgiving Dinner.