By The Glass
RICHARD FIELD
Wednesday, January 23, 2002
Try zesty beer,
champagne
at Super Bowl festWhile most of us are caught up with the teams facing off in the sports event of the year, another matchup may help determine the MVP of hosts at your Super Bowl party.
Along with ritual grill foods such as burgers, 'dogs, salmon steaks and ribs, you'll easily find different poke and tempura. How about sushi and mac salad? And of course, the potato chips, garlic fries, nachos and other snack foods.
Now, what do you generally serve as beverages? Beer and soda.
But if you want to win that MVP award this year, try some of these suggestions.
Kick up the flavor levels of the beer! Many imports offer bright and crisp flavors that are also more full-bodied. A good example is Bitburger. And for those who say they like full-flavored imports but find the them too strong, try craft beers such as Samuel Adams. Lots of flavor but not powerful.
Many of us like to drink "light" beers, for calories' sake. Step up the flavor with Corona Light. And if you like the flavor but don't want the alcohol, go with St. Pauli Girl Non-alcohol.
Now, to ensure your place in the hall of fame, serve champagne or sparkling wine. For the same reasons that beer works so well with these salty and pronounced-flavor foods and snacks, champagne works even better.
You don't even have to use fluted stemware -- use beer mugs or tumblers. Make it a fun surprise. There are sparkling wines that are dry and crisp like beer and some that are sweet, which you aren't likely to find in beer. Look for Asti sparkling wines for a very sweet flavor (nearly like 7 Up) to Demi Sec and Extra Dry, which is slightly sweet.
I love to drink German wines, especially in casual settings. A Super Bowl party that includes Zilliken Riesling, a humble bottling under $10, will find me there.
If chardonnay is your favorite, I'd lean toward lighter-styled but not necessarily lighter-flavored versions. Aussie whites from Banrock Station and Alice White are very affordable. Both wineries make a decent shiraz, too. These wines are usually under $6 per bottle. Sauvignon blancs offer a texture and brightness not found in other dry whites; Kenwood offers a delicious bottle at under $10, too.
Now you've made sure that even if the game doesn't go your way, the food and beverages will.
Richard Field owns
R. Field Food and Wine Co.
This column is a weekly lesson in wine
pairing written by a rotating panel of wine professionals.
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