Do you know if your brother is partial to a certain brand of wine? Does he prefer sweet wine or dry, white wine or red? I'm not an expert on what wine goes well with different cheeses, but I would suggest looking for the type of wine he prefers.

Oooo, you just reminded me I have a nice bottle of ice wine in the fridge:) Cheers!

Foxy.

Fruit wines go well with certain cheeses. I'm sorry I cannot offer a namebrand....I only drink Maryland wines.

Foxy- you and I are of like minds tonight! I have a bottle of Apple Currant that's just about finished. LOL

GH

Ice wine! Now that's a good idea, foxy! They're are good bet, because most people (except foxy!) don't usually keep them on hand, so you'd be getting him something that he likely wouldn't have hanging around his fridge or counter left over from last night's supper. The problem is that some of them can get pretty pricey ($80+ a bottle). They're incredibly sweet, almost syropy, and definitely sipping wines. These are not drinks you guzzle :) They're different than other wines, because the grapes are only harvested after they've frozen. I picked one up about a month ago, and it was only around $35 - not a bad wine. I can't remember the name, though. But if you go into any wine store, especially one with a vintage wine section, and ask the clerk for help, they'll be able to recommend something.

Shelly

My all time favorite wine is riesling. Its very sweet, but retains a sort of sour quality, almost like a granny smith apple. SO good!!
A good kind is a german piesporter michelsburg reisling. Michalesburg is the region it comes from and piesporter is the kind (I think I have to double check with dh on this). We buy ours from cost plus world market. They range from $9 and up.
Theresa

Theresa- you are right about the Riesling's taste. I drink it sometimes with my meals at Macaroni Grill. It's the sweetest wine they offer, so I'm all over it. I still find it makes my jaws pucker more than I like:)

GH

Toots- I thought you might find this link helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wine with that Cheese?

Thanks for that great link GH. It will be fun trying to find the right wine that I can afford!

Newsweek magazine--that bastion of gourmet dining?!--has a weekly box of recommended wines, with prices and flavors. Each week is a different type of wine, so you might like to check the library. Some are quite expensive, but most are amazingly reasonable.

Thanks Greene-I googled Newsweek and found an article that suggested a Gewurztraminur from Columbia Winery in Wa. that costs $9. There was also a hot tip on an Austrian -Gobelsburfger Gruner Veltliner that sounded wonderful-$15. Now I get to go to some big wine shops in Madison to see if I can find them. If the one bottle truely is $9 I will probably buy a couple. Opening a bottle of wine that is wonderful is such a treat for me but I must confess, it is usually by luck since I am not a knowledgeable wine buyer.

Stilton and a good bottle of wine.......priceless

Again, thanks everyone.

Hey you guys are pretty good. My best friend is into wine tasting, s he's in the newspaper now and then, she's help set up vineyards and she always tries to teach me about wine, but this is the extent of my knowledge:

I can distinguish white wine from red.

Good luck, Diane! Sounds like a lovely gift!

oooh. that sounds like a GREAT gift! how about a gift basket?
i would put in a couple bottles of Gewurztraminer--there are some great ones from all up and down the willamette valley in oregon, the cheese, some water crackers (maybe cracked peppercorn flavor?), and an assortment of nice pears and grapes. you could always throw in another milder cheese to serve for different palettes. wine accessories are also good so that he can have something after the feasting. i made wine charms out of memory wire last year, or you can maybe add a couple appropriately shaped wine glasses for whatever wine you end up with. cheese accessories are the other route--a cheese serving set or a slicer/cheese board is nice.

-ming

I like the basket idea also, but I am trying to keep things simple this year-spend less. I want to donate money to our food pantry and to hurricaine relief efforts.