Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

Yeah, this is of course typical of French cuisine, but I guarantee nobody leaves hungry.  This is sort of the antithesis of Golden Corral.

The wife once asked me if she would like GC and I said "No.".

I don't think ANYONE really likes GC.

The GC here went out of business

Napa is at the same latitude as Rome/Spain and a fair bit south of Bordeaux.  Whether an area is good for cab depends on much more than latitude of course.  In Sonoma county for example, the Russian River valley is good for pinot/chardonnay, and 10 miles away in Alexander Valley it is good for cab and Rhone varietals.  The Rhone valley area is quite long but quite a bit north of Paso.  The broad term for where a certain varietal may be good is "terroir", which is a combination of soil, altitude, sun exposure, and latitude.  Soils that are4 gravely and drain well tend to be preferred, like the subregion called Graves in Bordeaux. 

For me, the best thing to come out of the Russian River and/or Dry Creek areas is Zin... I like my Zin more fruity and peppery, though, not so much a fan of jammy zin.

But yes, I agree that terroir is much more important than latitude. Hence Sonoma Valley being "right next to" Napa Valley and yet the wines are so very different because of the foothills between them that block the clouds from reaching Napa Valley. So Napa is warmer and drier. 

So, what wine would you say pairs best with brisket grilled cheese?

Truthfully, I'd go with a beer pairing. You could go two ways. You could go with a big roasty flavor like an American stout, because that is a flavor that would stand up to all that cheese and the smoke. The other option would be to go clean and bitter to cut through the heaviness of the cheese. While you'd expect me to say IPA, this would be a good place for a hoppier pilsner. 

For wine, again I think you need something either with enough flavor and "pop" to stand up to the cheese and brisket. I think a big, heady, oaky Cab would distract. I'd go with a peppery Zinfandel [not a jammy one], or maybe a Syrah. Something with "punch you in the mouth" aggressiveness. 

Looks delish, I'd eat that bwar.


And yes I agree that beer is the perfect pairing.  Pilsner is great, though I wouldn't go hoppy (obviously).  A delicious perfectly balanced Czech pilsner is the best pairing IMO.

(and when it comes to beer and BBQ, I've tried pretty much every pairing possible )

Bud Heavy pairs very well with BBQ, especially beef rib!

there's a pic of a Louie Mueller rib

 

keep those fingers nimble for baseball

golf courses need rain

have any of y'all ever heard of Duplin wine?  it's made nearby... it's a horrid thing. i wouldn't rec abusing yourselves with such... however... however they make a habanero wine... and it is- so wildly different than anything i've ever drank before it's worth not only mentioning, but actually pressing upon you guys to try if you encounter it.  it's sweet up front, much like their other almost italian syrup type 'wines', and you wonder why you bothered... and then that pepper hits you a full second afterward- finish? no... it's way past the 'finish'... it's not exactly hot, but.. it gets the other responses hot gets is the only way i can explain it.  it has heat, but not like biting into a scotch bonnet would be.  it's.... strange... in a very different but not bad (not exactly good either) way, and worth trying just for that reason alone..... it suggests there are many dimensions of wine i've never heard of before, though i hesitate calling it wine. 

i think they only do it every once in a while, and, i'm not sure how far 'duplin's' market reach is....   

Wine, simply, is a fermented beverage made from fruit, any fruit.  If all the sugars are fermented, it's a "dry wine".  That is all that dry means, very low residual sugar levels.  Sweet wines are produced by interrupting fermentation to retain some sugar.  With port, they add alcohol to stop fermentation, for example.  Blackberry wine is wine, they usually leave it sweet.  Sake is not wine, it's more akin to beer, because neither use fruit for fermentation.