surf n'turf

Coteaux du Languedoc

Mike

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

This has come up before, the two foods are pretty contradictory from a wine standpoint. I personally would try these options (in order):

1) Say "what the hell" and serve two wines, white Burgundy (chardonnay) for the lobster and a big cab-based red (Napa cabernet or Left-bank Bordeaux probably in my case). 2) Go with brut Champagne, which is pretty forgiving. 3) Go for the biggest California Chardonnay you can find (good with the lobster, and won't get killed by the meat) 4) Go for a lighter food-friendly red such as Bourgogne from a good maker, or a good Beaujolais.

Bigger reds are really going to overwhelm the lobster.

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Dale

I believe that a red will be less damaging to the lobster than the disastrous effect of red meat on a chard (just overwhelms the wine) or a champagne (clashes with the acidity).

In fact, I have tasted lobster prepared with red wine and matched to Languedoc red, and it was stunning, at first unbelievable but later just stunning. The perfume of a well made southern red is a good complement to the delicate aroma of lobster.

This is coming from someone who thinks that scampi and Barolo are the definition of a bad match. I must admit I never tried it. Maybe some day. ;-)

Mike

Mike Tommasi, Six Fours, France email link

Yes, two bottles: a chardonnay and a good red wine.

Mark Lipton

p.s. If two bottles are too much, find some other people to drink them with! ;-)

Mike,

My overwhelming favorite of the options I presented would be the 2 wines scenario. But I've actually been ok with beef with both Champagne & BIG (we're talking Kistler type) Chardonnay. Though in both cases the beef was some kind of appetizer dish (kebabs on skewers) that was more well-done than would be the case if I was cooking a filet (I'm more the "bleu" type).

I agree there could be lobster dishes that would stand up to red (especially if using red wine in prep), but whenver I've seen the term "surf'n'turf" it referred to grilled/broiled steak or fillet and steamed lobster (with usually just drawn butter).

But in any case you & Ian are both right- one wine for beef and lobster will basically mean a tradeoff- there's going to be a problem somewhere along the line (question is of damage control).

Best,

Dale

Dale Williams Drop "damnspam" to reply

Hi, Mike -

Not all Chardonnays are created equal. I rather favor the style that can stand up to _any_ food - even without a glass! The kind that would stomp flounder _flat_ (if it weren't already). The kind that you might think is _red_ if you drank it from a black glass... ;^D

Tom S

Why "surf and turf"? Why not serve a lobster dish one night, and a beef dish the other? Or, at least, a seafood course and a beef course, with different wines for each?

Dana

I agree with you Dana. I'm not sure where the pairing of lobster and filet of beef came together for the first time but I've never had a wine that is a great match for the combination since the flavors are so very different and alone they both make excellent foods for wine. Bi!!

Thank you everyone! These are great suggestions! I can't remember the last time I had "surf n' turf", usually just one or the other, and the wine selection is clearly much easier (ignorance is bliss). (Actually, I recently dined on lobster tails with an AMERONE, don't yell at me). Last Saturday night I had a filet with a wonderful Sequioa Grove Cab. But this weekend, my husband and I are travelling to visit friends in St. Louis who are taking us to a fondue restaurant Saturday night. Not being a huge fondue fan, I perused the restaurant website which to my relief was not all about cheese and other forms of fat. I determined I would probably be ordering the filet or lobster, and then saw a "dinner for two" option involving both. Then of course I thought about the wine ... believe it or not, our St. Louis friends usually look to ME to choose the wine (don't laugh too loud now)! It's all relative, huh? Friday night we are cooking dinner at their home...I have no idea what the menu is...so I'm bringing Champagne--goes with most appetizers, don't you think?

-Cherie

Ooh, I will have to write that one down. :)

Cherie

Well, I'm not serving anything. I will be one of six people at a restaurant--a reunion of good friends--and I foresee a festive feasting mentality with lots of steak and lobster on the table. There may be sharing going on, if not surf n'turf orders. Personally, my husband and I almost never keep our forks confined to our own plates (we share, I don't mean we steal from our friends' plates). Clearly there will be enough of us to get both red and white wine, and this is a great suggestion (Mark, Ian, and Dale)--but here is the lingering question...what would you have me do: take a sip of white, a bite of lobster, a sip of white, a sip of red, a bite of filet, a sip of red, a sip of white, and so on? This is making my stomach growl.

-Cherie

Ah. I'd order both red and white wine in this case.

I'd probably eat the lobster with the appropriate wine, then eat the beef with the appropriate. But I'm an engineer, so I tend to approach things like that with a lot structure.

Dana

It's a appellation (or regional name) Cherie, about as general (but not quite) as asking for a "Napa Chardonnay." :)

A very "hot" region just now, it would seem, too. Perhaps the kind M. Tommasi would be more specific? (Is the now fairly famous Les Garrigues a C.L.?)

BTW IMHO if you must serve lobster with steak, try grilling both on a wood fire.

-E

To me, surf n' turf is like a two course meal on one plate. I would do the same - lobster first.

Dick

Well, why limit yourself to just one type of food? When we have get-togethers we routinely serve an 8-12 course meal including various cheeses, other appetizers, some soup, like roasted carrot or something like that, tapanade pizza, shrimp, muscles, clams, some fish, orange roasted duck , (or soem type of rabbit) beef roast or steak to close. Around 8-10 people usually, same amount of wine during the evening. Various whites and reds. Left overs for 3 days. :-) Closing with desserts with a good Tokaji and Armagnac. I can't imagine eating just 1 type of food during occasions like that. Where would the fun be? Zed

I am definitely a fan of the varied feast too. Thanks everybody for the advice! It's all very interesting to me. Have a great weekend. Cherie