Super Bowl LIX, the coda of a fantastic NFL season, is on Sunday. Even though our favorite team, the Baltimore Ravens, isn’t playing, we’ll still gather around the television to cheer on the Philadelphia Eagles or the Kansas City Chiefs.
There are rarely occasions like this that focus predominantly on the worst food for your health — chips, pizza, grilled sausage, ribs, hot dogs, cheese dips and only heaven knows what else you lacked the discipline to ignore. This is hardly the time to think healthy, so embrace the moment and give the diet a day off.
We’re not usually junk food people. Fruit and yogurt in the morning; salads and soups for lunch. But on Super Bowl Sunday, we’ll indulge our primal instincts and beg for forgiveness the next day. On Monday, we’re back to the healthy routine and hopefully no worse for wear.
If you’re still drinking alcohol despite the recent advisories, wine might be part of your planning. Drink responsibly and don’t operate heavy machinery, such as a TV remote.
Your party might have platters of barbecued food done in advance. There could be a plate of wings and smoked, pulled pork on slider buns for mid-game snacking. For those who prefer fish, offer fish tacos. If you’re a host, you will want to watch the game as badly as your guests do. Everything should be done in advance.
Salads, chips and a healthy salmon or vegetable dip, and the usual cheese and crackers will round out a balanced buffet.
The ads you’ll see on television appeal mostly to beer drinkers, and a cold one will go nicely with this kind of a menu. But this being a wine column, we are predisposed to enjoy the fruit of the vine.
Zinfandel and syrah are versatile red wines that marry well with barbecued foods. Sauvignon blanc does well with salads and vegetables. Keep in mind that zinfandel packs more alcohol and will have a more dramatic effect if consumed in quantity over a four-hour game. Prosecco is low in alcohol. So is soda.
By all means, keep the wines simple and inexpensive. And make sure you have plenty of water to serve between glasses. We have found that one way to moderate consumption is to open new bottles only after people have paused for a break. We put bottles of water in front of people as a hint or make sure there are pitchers of water on the tables. Having flavored, carbonated water is also a nice option to make that non-alcoholic refresher more enjoyable.
Here are some wine options to consider:
La Crema Pinot Noir ($15-22). This producer makes a series of pinot noirs from Sonoma County, Monterrey and the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Each represents some of the best values in pinot noir and is our top recommendation when asked.
Wente Morning Fog Chardonnay ($12-15). Although made in mass quantity, this is a go-to chardonnay for a crowd. It has balance and a ton of fruit flavor that isn’t overwhelmed by oak.
Mont Redon Cotes du Rhone ($12-15). We are constantly preaching the values coming from this region of France’s Rhone Valley. They have a lot of verve, little tannin and quaffability.
Georges du Boeuf Beaujolais Villages ($13-20). Made from gamay grapes, beaujolais is known for its easy-going, uncomplicated, fruity style. Georges du Boeuf put the region on the map, but there are plenty of alternatives, such as Louis Jadot and Lapierre. Beaujolais Villages are at the basic level. If you want a treat, step up to the still affordable village-specific versions with names like Morgon, Fleurie and Moulin-a-Vent.
Breca Garnacha Old Vine ($15-20). We love the grenache and syrah wines from Spain. This one is a perennial favorite because it is loaded with pure, enjoyable dark fruit flavor. An equally good alternative is Borsao Tres Picos.
J. Lohr October Night Chardonnay ($25). J. Lohr Vineyards & Wine makes a vast array of wines that out deliver for the price. This chardonnay hits all the boxes for enjoyment.
Decoy Zinfandel ($21-23). Decoy makes the least expensive wines in the Duckhorn portfolio yet they still embody quality. They are vastly less expensive than the Prisoner zinfandel blends. Alternatives are Ancient Peaks and Pedrocelli.
Domaine Bousquet Malbec ($12-20). This Argentine producer makes a lot of great values we have tasted over the past decade. The wines never fail to deliver quality for the price. There are many versions of the country’s primary grape to fit every pocketbook.
George Bertrand Cotes du Roses ($12-14). Rosé is a versatile match to most appetizers you’re like to serve in front of a TV. We like this version from a prolific French producer. We also like the omnipresent Whispering Angels, which costs a few bucks more but delivers a lot of fresh fruit character.
Inflation?
A friend recently invited Tom to share a bottle of 1961 Chateau Leoville Poyfere. We don’t think we have ever had a Bordeaux from this spectacular vintage until now. Although we expected to be disappointed by such an old wine, we were surprisingly pleased. Very few wines can survive 64 years of storage.
The wine was slightly tired with dry fruit and no tannin, but it was nonetheless enjoyable. A second-class grand cru from St. Julien, the Chateau Leoville Poyfere was from a legendary vintage — surpassed only by the 1966 vintage, in our opinion.
But the shocker was the price. On the back of the label, we saw the seller — Cork & Bottle in California — had written $7.25. Now that’s a good deal, right? I would have bought cases of it — if sold today. However, let’s put the price in perspective.
If my friend had bought lamb chops to serve with that wine in 1961, he would have paid 59 cents a pound. A potato would have cost 29 cents for a 10-pound bag. A loaf of bread would have been 25 cents. And if he wanted to buy a new dress shirt to impress his wife, he would have shelled out a whopping $4.50. The wine would have been quite expensive — as it would be today. The same wine costs about $130 today.
Wine picks
Regis Bouvier Marsannay Clos du Roy 2020 ($44). This is a delightful and reasonably priced pinot noir from Burgundy. Perfumy aromas, medium body, generous black cherry flavors.
Matanzas Creek Winery Chenin Blanc 2023 ($20). The first chenin blanc for this producer, it’s an astounding wine with pear and melon notes. It is a great buy.
Papapietro Perry Peters Vineyard Pinot Noir 2021 ($66). From the Russian River Valley, this quaffable pinot noir has a spicy, cherry nose with dark cherry and raspberry flavors and a hint of oak-inspired vanilla and caramel.
Tom Marquardt and Patrick Darr have been writing a weekly, syndicated wine column since 1985. See their blog at moreaboutwine.com. They can be reached at marq1948@gmail.com.