Father Daughter Wine

05/10/2025

Wine pairings for spicy foods:

—>Caribbean food – From jerk chicken to curried goat, Caribbean food is cooked with plenty of chili and spice and packs quite a punch. Your best bet is a rustic wine, like a Primitivo from Puglia. Primitivo is related to Zinfandel and has a blueberry and blackberry flavor profile with dark chocolate, leather, and licorice notes.

—>Tex-Mex – Tex-Mex is a blend of Mexican food and Texan bbq prepared with plenty of chili powder, ground cumin, coriander and paprika. For a wine that goes with both Chili Con Carne and spicy Steak Fajita, try an American Zinfandel. It has rich fruit and a finish of spice that will be an ideal match.

—>Spicy southern barbecue – Pork brisket, spicy wings and slow-cooked ribs in rich and flavorful sauces pair beautifully with reds like GSM wines and Australian Shiraz. These wines won’t break the bank either!

—>Indian – For a Vindaloo or Rogan Josh curry, pick up a bottle of Petite Sirah. It has characteristic plum notes alongside blueberry, chocolate and black cherry flavors. The ample tannins and dense jammy texture of the wine will make a perfect pairing. Another option is a Lambrusco from Emilia-Romagna. Lambrusco can have a light amount of carbonation to it. It feels like it wants to be a sparkling wine, is high in acidity, medium-bodied and uncomplicated, so you can pair it with Chicken Tikka Masala, Aloo Saag and lighter Indian sides too (Samosas and Pakoras). The acidity will cut through the spice and the frizzante will help to cool and refresh your mouth.

—>Vietnamese – Because there’s a lot of seafood in Vietnamese cuisine, it’s actually more white wine you’ll want to order here. Try a medium dry Pinot Gris from Alsace. This is a complex and creamy wine with good acidity, citrus and golden apple notes. For a less pricey option, go with a medium-dry Riesling from Germany.

Check out the latest article from Father Daughter Wine for more spicy food wine pairing ideas 🌶️ 🥵 🍷 🍇

https://fatherdaughterwine.com/red-wine-with-spicy-food/

05/10/2025

Looking for a wine that goes with Indian food, Tex-Mex or spicy barbecue? We’ve got you covered! 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ 🍷

—> American Zinfandels. Red Zinfandel is a classic American wine to pair with spicy food. It’s big-fruited and high in alcohol and can be thick with blackberry, orange zest, cinnamon and sometimes licorice notes.

—> Australian Shiraz. Shiraz is a full-flavored wine from Down Under with lush blackberry, raspberry, briary and spice flavors, and hints of black pepper and plum. You can pair it with most spicy foods, as well as braised meat.

—> GSM wines. GSMs are blends of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. They’re generally dark and medium to full-bodied wines with rich cherry and chocolate notes and good acidity. They have just the right texture to stand up to a plate of hot and spicy food.

—> Nero d’Avola. This full-bodied Italian red is high in alcohol and can be intense and fruity, with blackberry and cherry notes and prominent tannins. It’s the perfect wine to have with a spicy red sauce or a barbecue spread and it also goes well with sausages. Most Nero d’Avola comes from Sicily and starts at $15+.

—> Chinon and Bourgeuil. These red wines from the Loire Valley are made primarily with Cabernet Franc. They’ll give you the color, aroma and intensity you need for a spicy meal pairing, without the high alcohol of a Zinfandel. They’re also quite attractively priced and have herbal aromas and spices in their flavor profile.

Check out the full list 👇

Learn why full-bodied reds with big fruit and some spice to their flavor profile make the best pairings with spicy food.

04/30/2025

What are your thoughts on table wines? 🍷 🍇 🇮🇹 Vino da tavola translates to “table wine” and can be used for red and white wines of any grape variety or blend, that come from regions all over Italy.

Table wine was historically a drink for the masses. It was an unstructured and young wine that didn’t cost a lot to make, and was accessible to everyone (meaning you didn’t need a lot of money to buy it).

It’s a thing everywhere where they make wine, even in prestigious wine growing regions. That’s because you need different quality and pricing levels to meet world market demands and it’s a great way of using up the grapes that would otherwise be discarded for failing to meet quality specifications in higher level wines.

Today you’re more likely to see Vino d’Italia or Rosso d’Italia / Bianco d’Italia on Italian table wines instead of Vino da Tavola, but either way, you’re in the lowest tier of the Italian wine classification system, reserved for uncomplicated and simple wines that have fewer regulations imposed on their production. In fact, Vino da Tavola doesn’t have to list a vintage or the grape varieties in its blend!

So, is Vino da Tavola bad wine? Not necessarily, it’s just everyday drinking wine that you can think of as quite straightforward.

It won’t show up on many restaurant wine lists but you can often find it in less expensive grocery stores displayed in the Italian wine section or mixed in with the 1.5 or 3 liter bulk wines from the US.

Learn more in the latest article from Father Daughter Wine: https://fatherdaughterwine.com/vino-da-tavola-wine/

04/30/2025

Did someone bring you a Rosso d’Italia from
trader Joe’s? 🍷 🍇 This wine would fall under the ‘Vino da Tavola’ classification.

Learn more about the history of Italian table wine, why it isn’t so bad and how it differs from DOC and DOCG wines. Plus, did you know Super Tuscans were once considered Vino da Tavola?!

Vino da Tavola is an Italian wine designation that translates to “table wine.”

04/17/2025

We were lucky enough to attend a wine tasting at Famiglia Cotarella earlier this week. Yes, they do make Merlot 🍷 🍇 in Italy and it’s delicious! Plus their Est! Est! Est! is the perfect summer white for light hors d’oeuvres and garden gatherings.

Doing a tasting with my dad is always a great way to hone your tasting skills and get better at describing wine.

People use a lot of different words to talk about wine. From zesty and angular to full and jammy and even earthy and austere, there are so many wine keywords in fact that it can feel overwhelming to try and learn them all.

The thing to understand about describing wine is first you have to be able to fully taste the wine, and when you’re tasting the wine, you need to know what to look for and which attributes to pay attention to.

We’ve put together a handy guide of 23 wine keywords in our latest article. You’ll also learn how to talk about how a wine comes together to give you an overall mouthfeel and impression. Is it elegant, powerful, austere, vivacious… (these tend to be the English wine words most poked fun at by wine aficionado characters in movies and books!)

While you don’t have to jump straight to the more odd-sounding descriptors, don’t be afraid to get a little out there when you’re talking about wine. It’s not an exact science after all!

Article: https://fatherdaughterwine.com/describe-the-taste-of-wine

04/17/2025

“The wine was medium-bodied with red fruit notes, including dark cherries and plum, and hints of leather. You could also describe it as well balanced with soft tannins, good acidity and a long finish.”

Want to improve your wine tasting game? Have a read through the latest article from Father Daughter Wine for wine words, tasting notes and more 🍷 🍇 📖

Discover the best English words to describe the taste of wine, from zesty and crisp to jammy and rich.

04/03/2025

Were you under the impression that wines 🍷 🍇 with screw caps are lower quality? Here’s why you might want to rethink that position —>

Many high quality white wines like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay have screw caps these days. This is because they’re made to be drunk young, in the first one to three years after release. These wines not only taste the same as they would with a natural cork, they may even taste better thanks to the tighter seal of the cap, which keeps the vibrant fruit flavors fresh and the acidity intact.

And when it comes to reds, many Pinot Noirs use screw caps to help preserve the vibrancy of their fruit aromas and acidity.

Here’s a guide to which wines are perfectly okay to buy with an alternate closure:

Whites you drink young:
Sauvignon Blanc
Unoaked Chardonnays
Oaked Chardonnays in the $10-20 range
Pinot Grigio / Pinot Gris
Riesling in the $10-20 range
Certain Rosés in the $10-25 range
Lower-priced Grüner Vetliner from Austria

Less expensive reds:
Merlot in the $10-20 range
Cabernet Sauvignon in the $10-20 range
Pinot Noir in the $10-25 range
Red wine blends in the $10-25 range

Learn which wines are better with natural corks and more in the latest article from Father Daughter Wine: https://fatherdaughterwine.com/cork-vs-screw-top-wine/

04/03/2025

Our reviewer Brian had a chance to participate in the final stage of a ten year experiment at Felton Road winery in New Zealand. Ten vintages of their Estate Chardonnay and Estate Pinot Noir were compared with a bottle each under cork and a bottle using screw cap.

The results? In all vintages the Chardonnays which were aged in screw cap were fresher, fruitier and more appealing. However, with the Pinot Noirs, there was less of a qualitative difference and more of a stylistic difference.

The wines under screw cap were less evolved and less complex but retained an appealing strong fruit profile. The Pinot Noirs under cork were more complex and showed more of a typical aging development.

Both closures for Pinot Noir were successful, it was just a question of which style you preferred.

Learn more about corks vs screw caps in the latest article from Father Daughter Wine — which includes a handy list of wines that may even taste better with an artificial closure compared to a natural cork.

https://fatherdaughterwine.com/cork-vs-screw-top-wine/

Follow Father Daughter Wine for weekly articles that help you learn more about the wines you like and explore new growing regions — link in bio.

www.fatherdaughterwine.com

Many popular whites like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay have screw caps these days. This is because they’re made to be drunk young.

03/26/2025

Here are some wine food pairing tips for sushi. Did you know you can drink some red wines with fish? Reds are especially good with spicy tuna!

Souece: https://fatherdaughterwine.com/wine-that-goes-with-sushi

03/26/2025

Do you love sushi as much as we do?! 🍣 🍱 You could go with a Sauvignon Blanc. Or, you could try one of these five wines …

—> Etna Bianco from Sicily. This is a dry white wine with lemon and citrus notes that go well with seafood, especially octopus 🐙

—> Vouvray from the Loire. This French Chenin Blanc has beautiful fruit which will help balance out the flavors in a California Roll. Look for a wine that says sec or demi sec on the label 🍱

—> Grüner Vetliner from Austria 🇦🇹. With its dry grassy and asparagus notes this wine makes a perfect pairing for vegetarian sushi 🥒

—> Beaujolais Crus from France. Red wine with sushi? Yes, especially if you’re having a spicy tuna roll 🌶️. There are 10 Crus but we recommend a Fleurie. It’s a wine with delicate fruit and floral aromas that won’t overpower the fish 🍷

—> Gavi di Gavi from Piedmont. This Italian white has bright lemon flavors and a clean mouthfeel which is ideal for pairing with white fish and sea bass 🐟 🍋

Looking for more ideas on what wine to have with sushi? Check out this article from Father Daughter Wine:

Learn which wines go best with sushi and discover fun pairings for different sushi rolls.

03/25/2025

Think you don’t like Chardonnay? It might just be you don’t like oaked wines or wines that have undergone malolactic fermentation.

Malo comes from the Latin for apple, and lactic, milk and together they describe a secondary fermentation process that some Chardonnay undergoes in which the crisp, harder citrus and apple like acid in the wine is converted over to a soft, rich and more buttery acid. This fermentation process is the reason why some Chardonnays have such a big and buttery taste, and is more common in oaked wines.

Try an unoaked Chardonnay from France and see if you can taste the difference. Some of the best Chardonnay in the world comes from the Chablis region and about 75-80% of it is unoaked.

You’ll find more vibrancy and acidity when tasting an unoaked wine, and unoaked Chardonnay tends to be cleaner, so you can taste more primary fruit flavors.

Article: https://fatherdaughterwine.com/oaked-vs-unoaked-chardonnay

Follow Father Daughter Wine for weekly articles that help you learn more about the wines you like and explore new growing regions — link in bio.

www.fatherdaughterwine.com

03/23/2025

Wines, natural yeast & terroir

When we talk about terroir (pronounced terr-wAh-r) we usually mean things like climate, soil, elevation/terrain … basically, the environmental factors that make one wine taste different from another, even if both were made from the same grape varietal and grown in the same region.

However, vines naturally have multiple strains of yeasts that exist on the skin of their grapes. And as microbes and microorganisms are environmental factors, the winemaking process can become a part of terroir if during production these yeasts are allowed to naturally ferment the wine.

They’ll give the wine more complexity and a unique taste specific to the place where the grapes were grown. This is what sets many smaller Beaujolais AOC wines apart from large-scale producers who use commercial yeast.

Learn more about terroir … https://fatherdaughterwine.com/terroir-wine/