Wines for all occasions

Dear Wine Ladies

As a lover of very basic foods, I am most grateful to a friend of mine who just introduced me to one of her favorites, tempura. I’d like to be able to offer her a glass of wine the next time we have it, but I’m a beer drinker myself, and have no idea what to buy. Any suggestions would be appreciated, preferably not too expensive or overpowering. The last few times we’ve been together she’s ordered red wine – are there any reds that would also be appropriate?

Andy

Dear Andy,

Tempura is definitely one of our favorites too, which we often enjoy with a variety of wines – reds, white and sparkling. A Beaujolais would be a great choice for the red, these wines are typically fruity, not overpowering in either alcohol or tannin and are reasonably priced. With the recent release of Beaujolais Nouveau there certainly is a plethora of these particularly fruity and easy drinking wines available on the shelves. Beaujolais is made with the gamay grape, of which there are some Canadian wines available as well.

For a white wine option, a fresh and crisp Sauvignon Blanc or a dry unoaked Chardonnay would be nice and, for something a little special, why not try a sparkling wine? Contrary to what many believe, sparkling wines are naturals to enjoy with food and should not be reserved exclusively for special occasions. There are a number of excellent value sparkling wines on the market these days coming from regions around the world. Cava from Spain, Prosecco from Italy and Sekt from Germany are several terms used to identify sparkling wines.