479639 Tue Jan 15 12:04:45 -0800 2008 6 34 Wine 0 3297997 what are good food pairings for these two wines? i'd like to explore them and have no idea what to cook that will go well with the wines... last thing i want to do is cook something that will completely destroy the taste (which i was unaware was possible until i found this board!). Tue Jan 15 12:04:45 -0800 2008 148496 polly parker 1 3298095 The sangiovese grape is native to Tuscany and is the main grape in Chianti & Brunello wines. It would certainly go well with most hearty foods from that area and would go especially well with roasted & grilled meats. Tue Jan 15 12:33:09 -0800 2008 3297997 23776 DavidT 2 3298116 Malbec is fantastic with a steak. Tue Jan 15 12:37:20 -0800 2008 3298095 11814 dinwiddie 3 3298829 >> Malbec is fantastic with a steak. I fully agree. Malbec is a quintesential 'steak' wine. Tue Jan 15 15:34:43 -0800 2008 3298116 118541 olasek 1 3298401 Sangiovese is usually medium-bodied and earthy, so it goes great with a variety of different things. I like it with grilled chicken and tomato-based dishes like pastas and pizza. Malbec is bigger and more fruity, so it requires bigger flavors, like steak or grilled lamb. I recently had some Malbec with argentine-style beef empanadas and that was really delicious. Tue Jan 15 13:44:53 -0800 2008 3297997 16011 oolah 1 3298609 Sangiovese in Italian wines is for me an interesting grape. For some reason, I find a lot of Italian Sangiovese a little hard to drink alone. I find them clunky and harsh, the fruits masked by some tough and bitter tannins. (there are of course some exceptions). But pair them with food and they transform into such a pleasureable experience! And I find these wines to be very forgiving. You don't need to find a perfect pairing, anything that goes reasonably well with a red wine seems to make Italian wines bloom. Easiest matches are any Italian food. Regional cuisine with wine, it's like this rule was defined by Italy... Tue Jan 15 14:34:36 -0800 2008 3297997 89969 moh 2 3299397 I completely agree. I cannot drink sangiovese without food. The tannins, while they tend to soften with air, do no make for a pleasant sipper. Tue Jan 15 18:49:34 -0800 2008 3298609 53967 chrisinroch