Baked ham dinner party

[Hank Matty]

We will soon give a dinner party featuring baked ham. I'm seeking recommendations for wine with the main course.

[Innkeeper]

Well Hank, you have a lot of choices. First there are light to medium reds. The Grand Cru Beaujolais, '97 or '98 Chiroubles for example, to Italian Dolcettos, e.g. D'Alba at the other end. If it is a fancy party you might want to go with a Brut d'Rose to a Blanc d'Noir. My preference would be a rose' or pink with "shoulders" on it. This genre took a beating when the suddenly popular and ofttimes cloyingly melifuous White Zinfandel came along. Lately, better offerings in rose or pink have come along. See that category on this board, as well as the Best Values/Steals category for some excellent recommendations. I like (as others are getting tired of hearing) the McDowell Grenache Rose' Mendocino, 1997. Hope all this leaves you more informed than confused.

[Jerry D Mead]

Innkeeper's advice is sound...one added note of caution: Don't make the ham too sweet, because the too much sweetness will fight with any wine you choose.

I'm big on Roses or lighter Pinot Noirs with ham...and as everyone is also tired of hearing...my favorite Rose of the moment is Joseph Phelps Grenache Rose.

[Scoop]

For another entry into the pink (and one that hasn't been mentioned too much), you could try the Regaleali 1997 Rosato, an earthy, fruity and full dry rose from Sicily with good distribution -- and a nice price to match (@$9.00).

Cheers,

Scoop

[Randy Caparoso]

I hate to bust in on this party, but baked ham, to me, almost always means one wine: A light, zesty, slightly sweet German Riesling (Halbtrocken or Kabinett level). Why?

1. Baked hams are intrinsically salty. Slight sweetness always balances saltiness, and thus slightly sweet white wines always help you eat MORE ham, I daresay.

2. Why do you think most people slather honey and/or pineapple on hams? Natural sugar, my friend. But the sugar, however, can be filling in itself. A touch of sweetness in a wine like Riesling also helps balance out the sugar in the typical ham sauce -- making it so it doesn't taste so sweet (a proven gastronomic theory of "relativity").

3. German Rieslings in particular are also zesty with acidity. Acid not only helps to liven up the palate, it also does a great job of cutting through ham fat. Why do you think there are so many jolly, rolly poly Germans out there? (It's not just the lager!).

[Hank Matty]

Our baked ham dinner party for ten last night was successful, but not because of the wine, which was not very well recived. I live in Tucson, and the closest I could come to a recommendation posted by Dec 14 was a '97 Rose de Syrah from Reserve St. Martin. For baked ham, next time I will go with Randy, whose post was too late for me this time. Thanks to all for responding to my call for help.

[Randy Caparoso]

Aw shucks. Sorry I was late. Got any leftovers? Try out my theory with a simple, inexpensive German white. Of course, to me it isn't theory -- just tried-and-true.

[Scoop]

Not to beat a dead horse, but over the holidays my (Chinese)in-laws made a special Chinese ham preparation (phonetically: "Tee Pueng"), whereby the ham is cooked slowly for hours, mostly with steam, along with spices like cloves, star anise and sichuan peppercorns. It's unbelieveably tender and succulent, and it has a hint of sweetness as well.

There were a number of other dishes in the mix, so I went for a Riesling -- a Heyl zu Herrnsheim 1996 Niersteiner (I don't think it was the Pettental)Spaetlese. Compared with other 1997 Heyl Spaetlesen, this one had a distinctly sweet and rich (for a riesling) profile, with lots of viscosity, with just enough acidity to pull it off. But the pronounced tropical fruit and mineral notes played beautifully with the ham and the other many (and disparate) flavors found on the table. And my Chinese hosts, who are by no means oenophiles, raved about the "fantastic" wine.

Score another one for the noble Riesling!

Cheers,

Scoop

[Thomas]

When in doubt, go Riesling....

[Randy Caparoso]

Welcome to the world of Euro-Asian style wine and food!

[Thomas]

Over the centuries, much of Asia (India, China) has been impervious to the joys of wine (even after the Silk Road got it to them, and after Afghanistan was once a winegrowing region of India).

But, I predict Asia to be the next growth market for wine. I understand China hosted a major wine event last November--I missed that one!

[Innkeeper]

Though I won't back off my view of quality Rose' with ham, have to agree that Reisling goes with just about anything. When we lived in Germany and visited small vinters in just about every region, each would line up all ten or twelve of their wines from dry to sweet to taste, and tell you exactly what went with them from sole to venison, with ham, pheasant, and duck being somewhere in the middle. Never did, back in the '60s, discuss Chinese food with them. Tonight we had Greenwood Ridge, Mendocino Ridge, White Riesling, 1998 with sauteed chicken thighs with herbs. Normally we would gone with a St Veran, but tonight the Reisling was just fine.