What's the best wine to serve with...?!
Answers: a heavy cheesy pasta dinner? (4 Cheese Stuffed Shells w/ground Sirloin and Marinara Sauce) I have a really good Merlot that I got for Christmas. Will that do?
Wine pairing can be confusing and seem complicated. One good tip I learned when waiting tables is to match heavier meals with full-bodied wines; likewise, lighter meals such as salads with light-bodied wines. You can measure a wines viscosity by filling a wine glass halfway and swirling it. If the wine makes fat waves (legs) and clings longer to the sides of the glass, it is considered full-bodied. Watch to see how much liquid runs down the sides of the wine glass, and how much stays clinging to the sides immediately after swirling it. If the wine hardly clings the sides of the glass when swirled, and it's hard to swirl it without spilling it, it is lighter-bodied. You can compare full-bodied wines to heavy cream, meduim-bodied to half and half, and light-bodied to skim milk. The rule of pairing reds with red meats and whites with white meats no longer applies. Merlots tend to be medium- to full-bodied, so it may make a great combo. I enjoy a good, hearty Chianti or Shiraz with the meal you just described. Reds go very well with meat and cheese dishes. Remember: It's all about how well the wine enhances the flavors in the dish. You don't want the wine to overpower the dish, and vice versa.
I don't know if a merlot would go well with pasta as a merlot usually goes better with meat as a main dish. I'd try either a pinot grigio, or even better a white merlot (it's a blush).
But its your dinner, and serve whatever wine you think your guests will enjoy. Bon Appetit, and have a glass for me!
Marinara sauces and beef tend to go better with red wine than white wines. I think that the merlot you have will go very nicely with the dish that you described. Enjoy!