Wines To Try According To Your Favorite Beer Style
We know your loyalties lie with brews, but sometimes a social situation may arise where you just have to have a wine instead. Don’t waste your time on a varietal you won’t like. Here’s a great way to figure out which varietal you’ll like based on your preferred beer style. It’s pretty right on. Go ahead and give it a try!
By Justin Beerber on Nov. 28, 2016
We know, we know, you’re a beer fanatic. So are we! But what happens if you go to a wine lover’s house and they’ve got no nectar of the gods for you? Or maybe you just want to dive into the world of wine but you’re not sure where to start. Either way, we think every beer drinker should dip their tongue into a glass of wine at some point.
So, what wine should I drink if I like beer?
Well no worries, Mark DeWolf of the Chronicle Herald lays out some pretty great guidelines to help you match your favourite beer styles to a wine varietal you may enjoy. If you do end up liking it and want to learn more about wine or discover new wines you should try out, check out our sister site JustWine.
We’ve made it really easy for you. Click on the varietal or style name to see various examples of each.
Best wines for beer drinkers
LIKE WITBIERS? TRY A RIESLING
Riesling has a “love it or hate it” type of relationship with many wine lovers. Great Rieslings possess remarkably fragrant aromatic profiles and even when made into sweeter edged styles remain balanced. The same applies to Wit, which can have almost sweet citrus flavour, accented by mild exotic spice notes. When made well they have a refreshingly tart finish to counterbalance any perceived sweetness. So if Witbier is your thing, a Riesling might sit well with your tastebuds.
LIKE A WEIZEN? TRY A MOSCATO
German-style wheat ales such as Hefeweizen are exotically fruity in nature with banana and bubble gum notes dominating. This is very similar to the Moscato wine, which is often seen as a dessert wine with fruity notes and an intense sweetness. Try one out and see if you can taste the similarities.
LIKE A LAGER? TRY A PINOT GRIGIO
Pinot Grigio has become a bit ubiquitous, much like generic lager was in the 1980s and 1990s. Pinot Grigio (Italian) or Pinot Gris (French) are popular because of their subtle flavour and mild acidity. You might call it the drink-ability factor. Not all Pinot Grigio are devoid of flavour. The best from Italy’s Alto-Adige can have vibrant pear and citrus notes coupled with mineral-edge acidity. The same can be said of craft lagers as they are rarely heavy or drying but can display flavour, unlike some of their mega-brewery alternatives.
LIKE A PILSNER (PILSENER)? TRY A SAUVIGNON BLANC
Sauvignon Blanc offer vibrant grapefruit, pepper and grassy-like aromas and flavours. When great they are vibrant and even have an edge much like classic European-style Pilsener which offer fragrant grassy even spicy hop notes and crisp, drying finishes.
LIKE A BELGIAN-STYLE ALE? TRY A PINOT NOIR
Great Pinot Noir boasts a remarkable balance of earthy funkiness, bright fruitiness and a refreshing tang. Belgian-style ales often share a remarkably similarly combination of fruity and earthy tones.
LIKE A PALE ALE? TRY A MALBEC?
The rise in popularity of Argentinean Malbec shares a remarkably similar timeline to the rise in popularity of craft beer. The interest in both has exploded over the last decade. Malbec is the red wine choice of the populous as their immediately appealing juicy plum and blueberry flavours and typically mild dry finishes make most Malbec very easy to drink. I liken their appeal to craft brewed English-style Pale Ales. These beers offer up lots of fruity esters but only moderate hop bitterness.
LIKE AN INDIA PALE ALE? TRY A CABERNET SAUVIGNON?
If you like Cabernet Sauvignon you are likely not afraid of flavour or a little bit tannic bitterness. Tannins, found in grape skins and oak, provide red wines their appetizingly dry finishes much like hops do for beer. India Pale Ale is the beer world’s Cabernet Sauvignon, as they possess elevated hop bitterness in the finish.
LIKE A STOUT OR PORTER? TRY A SHIRAZ?
Shiraz, especially when made in warm New World regions such as South Australia, can have remarkably bold dark flavours, are often accented with lashings of oak which can contribute vanilla, coffee or even chocolate notes. There’s nothing shy or subtle about them.
Read the original article in the Chronicle Herald