Wine lovers....I have a question....

[Fountain79]

What kind of red wine should one serve with baked ziti with a meat sauce?

[eyesroll]

1. I like a Zinfandel.

Or a Primativo, which is the same grape, but usually costs a few dollars less.

Good luck!

[petronius]

2. Chianti? Some sort of robust Italian red?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. With Chianti you need fava beans

and somebody's liver (per H. Lecter).

[GoneOffShore]

3. Nice hearty Rhone

Shiraz.

Or an Italian Super Tuscan - Villa Caffagio if you can find it. Dievole is very good.

A California Zinfandel if you only want to taste the wine - They're running around 15% alcohol right now, so you'll get toasted before you finish the dinner.

[skygazer]

4. I really like cabs with pasta myself

A good bold cab and a hearty sauce.... yum!

[hickman]

6. The only red wine I've ever liked was a Fat Bastard.

We had it with prime rib. Dry but didn't make my tongue roll up. It actually tasted like a compliment to the meat. I'm wine stupid though. The only other wine I've ever liked was a Johannesburg riesling from a winery somewhere near Traverse City, Michigan. I just tried to google them and zip. Must be out of business.

[GoneOffShore]

9. There are a lot of good Rieslings out there

Try some of the ones from Alsace. Not super sweet, with good fruit. Look for Zind-Humbrecht, Mure, Pierre Spar, Willm, Hugel and Trimbach. These are, despite the Germanic sounding names, all French wines.

The vinifacation (wine-making) is different in France than in Germany, so you end up with drier wines that preserve the fruit bouquet, but are IMHO, better with food. Last time we were in Alsace we kept seeing cars with German plates loading up at the French wineries.

Fat Bastard is from the Rhone (http://www.fatbastardwine.com/index2.htm) and the wine makers are mavericks, much like Randall Graham in California. The website is fun and their wines are tasty, if not overly complex.

[Aristus]

7. Chianti.

Or if you don't want something so robust, Lambrusco will do. Lambrusco is the sodapop of the wine world.

[ChoralScholar]

8. Thunderbird or Night Train

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. It's Italian food, so go with an Italian wine. From the Ziti region.

:rofl: Okay, the second sentence was a joke.

But usually a region's food does go best with that region's wines.

Maybe a Chianti (but not that shit with the wicker wrapping - get a real one).

Although a Zinfandel could go well - as could a thick Syrah/Shiraz.

I could even be tempted to try a Dry Riesling with a baked ziti in meat sauce, though that would also depend on the side dish.

[leftofthedial]

11. well, there are a number of excellent reds

Valpolicella Classico might be good