In case anyone was wondering about beverage pairings ...

We did have some German beer to go with all of this, but my brother was in charge of that. I'm really not a beer person. I'll see if he can send me the names of what he got so I can include them.

I was on wine duty, and this posed quite the challenge. One's gut tells them to go red with a heavy, meaty meal, but Germany is not known for its red wines. Along with that, I had my own personal bias against a) white wines and b) sweet ones. I like a big, smoky, spicy red, especially with a good meal.

My initial thought on the reds was to pick something bold and rich to match the meat, either a Shiraz or a Zin. My sister, on the other hand, thought a traditional Riesling would be a decent complement because the sweeter wine would help balance out the sour flavors of our dishes.

I did some Internet research and found an article from the New York Times that also suggested Shiraz and Zin. But many of the people commenting on the story suggested pairing sauerbretan with Riesling, particularly one from the Alsace region (which is actually now part of France).

So armed with all of this seemingly conflicting information, we headed to Premier and decided to consult one of their wine "experts." I went up and explained we were looking for a German wine to go with sauerbraten, and the guy immediately got this pensive look on his face and muttered something along the lines of "ahhh ... yes. I believe I can help you." I thought he was full of BS.

But the guy confidently led us along the aisles of German wines and those from Alsace and helped us pick four that were pretty reasonably priced. Of course it was after we put these in our basket and were ready to check out when he made some comment about how the Rieslings were good with any kind of spicy sausage. This is about when we realized he didn't know what sauerbraten is (Deal breaker?)

I was starting to get a little overwhelmed at this point so we just went with what he picked. I threw an Australian Shiraz in for good measure. We were all actually pleasantly surprised by how much we liked the selections and how well they went with the German feasting (although in all fairness, much of it we drank before we sat down at the table).

Our wines were also all pretty dry and crisp, which I think helped cut the acidity in all of the vinegar. Heather was right. It was a nice balance.

Here were three of the four we ended up with. The fourth bottle of white remains unopened in my mom's refrigerator (I'll see if I can get little bro to track down what it is).

HUGEL GENTIL 2005

This was a dry, white blend from Alsace that was made of Gewurtztraminer, Pinot Gris, Muscat and Sylvaner. This was my favorite because it was extremely crisp and refreshing. A winner!

SCHUMANN NAGLER CHRISPTOPHER PHILLIP RIESLING, 2005

This was a nice, light Riseling that was on the drier side. It was fruity and pleasant to drink.

BOULARD EIFEL RIESLING 2005

This one was the sweetest of the three we drank. Also nice and fruity.