Tailgate picks give wine drinkers something to cheer about

My brother once asked me to bring the wine for a tailgate party before a football game.

The criteria I used were these:

- Easy drinking.

- Relatively inexpensive.

- Appropriate with all types of food, from chicken to burgers.

- A red and a white wine.

- Good enough to please a regular wine drinker but not too complex for an occasional wine drinker.

- Most of all, fun.

It's football time again, and I asked the wine-tasting group to compare white and red wines that would be appropriate to bring to a tailgating party. Here's what we found, beginning with the whites:

- Bully Hill Fish Market White at $7.99. Don't be turned off by the name; it's meant to be funny, we thought. It had a light, bubbly nose that wanted to be sweet but was not quite. The texture was buttery, but we agreed this New York wine needed to be served cold.

- 2001 Rothbury Chardonnay at $5.99. The aroma was full of citrus, spice, green apples and pear. We found this to be an easy-drinking wine with some oak. It tied for our favorite among the white whites.

- 2001 Talus Chardonnay at $7.99. This wine had the most oak influence of any of the five whites. It was big and creamy, but perhaps too much oak for a tailgate party.

- 2002 Milton Park Chardonnay at $8.99. Fresh and lively, this Australian wine showed nice citrus aromas, especially bitter lemon. It had a clean finish. It tied for first among the tailgating whites.

- 2002 Chateau Ste. Michelle Johannisberg Riesling at $9.99. Those who prefer a sweeter-tasting wine might try a Riesling. This one had a floral nose, with honeysuckle. It tasted fruity sweet.

Now for the reds, which generally got better ratings for tailgating:

- 2000 Pepperwood Merlot at $8.99. This was a friendly wine, spicy with big fruit, particularly blackberry and raspberry. It had a bit of alcohol on the finish.

- 2000 Columbia Crest Two Vines Merlot at $8.99. The most impressive aspect of this wine was its velvety, mature texture. It tasted of mature cherries and dark fruit -- a "smooth" wine. Tasters thought it would work well with or without tailgate food.

- 2002 Milton Park Shiraz at $8.99. This wine had a cherry aroma, with jammy fruit tastes. "'Yummy," said one taster. It was easy to drink, but with a bit of alcohol on the finish. Tasters thought it would work well with ribs. It finished first among our red wines.

- 2001 Rothbury Shiraz at $5.99. The aroma offered black cherries and plums, with a bit of tea leaves. It was dryer than the others, a good wine that was "very tasty."

- Bully Hill Meat Market Red at $7.99. Tasters found this wine overdone, with very little fruit. We did find some plum, but it tasted old or stale.

Tasters strongly recommended any of the first four red wines tasted to be excellent candidates for tailgating.

Questions can be sent to Frank Sutherland, editor, The Tennessean, 1100 Broadway, Nashville, Tenn. 37203 or e-mailed to editor