Wine Dinner #1

 

My stunning chef/wine snob friends

Cheers! Featuring Cole and his goofy smile :)

For our first wine dinner, we had a casual night where we each prepared a dish and brought a wine to go with it. The three dishes and wines we had were a chicken and spinach alfredo pizza with a balsamic glaze that we ate with a Pinot Grigio, linguine with clams paired with a Vouvray, and finally a vanilla crème brûlée paired with an Aged Tawny Port. 

The first wine was the 2021 Jermann Pinot Grigio. It had an aroma of citrus, apple, pear, and honeysuckle. Upon tasting, it was off-dry with a medium body and fairly smooth, with the crisp apple and honeysuckle flavors coming. Paired with the pizza, it brought out some acidity in the wine that cut the alfredo cheesiness and some woody flavors when I got a big bite of the fluffy crust. The balsamic glaze amplified the fruitiness and added some tartness as well. Overall, this was a beautiful pairing and I compliment my friend Jess on her amazing chef skills.

Next is the 2021 Vignobles Lacheteau Vouvray which is of the varietal chenin blanc, and a Trader Joes exclusive that I brought with me from my home in Virginia Beach. This is my favorite wine and I drink it very regularly, but I tried to approach this tasting with an objective viewpoint. It had an almost perfumed aroma that was bright and appley. It was super smooth, semi-sweet, and not at all acidic. We paired this with linguine with clams that I prepared using some of this wine. This dish is a staple in my family so I got this recipe directly from my Napoletano father. The sauce is mostly clam juice and pasta water that is thickened and flavored with thinly sliced onion and lots of garlic. The onion helps to bring out the sweetness and fruitiness of the wine, while the garlic and clams make the wine feel more buttery in the mouth. The wine also helps to bring out the saltiness of the clams and pasta. As objective as I tried to be, this pairing is my all time favorite meal and I highly recommend it. Let me know if you want the recipe ;)

For dessert, we tasted a Maynard's Aged Tawny Port that was bottled in 2022, but aged for ten years and is a blend of 30% Tinta Roriz, 30% Touriga Franca, 20% Touriga Nacional & 20% Other. Immediately after opening the bottle, the scent of alcohol was thick, that was only enhanced when swirled. It also smelled strongly of caramel, butterscotch, and vanilla. These flavors came through in the tasting, though the vanilla seemed more artificial, like a vanilla extract. It was sweet, smooth, and thick, but not quite heavy, more medium body but on the heavy side. The crème brûlée was delicious but unfortunately did not have enough time in the fridge to set completely. Unfortunately, the port was completely overpowered by the sweetness of the crème brûlée. The port was somewhat sweet, but with an abv of  20%, the only thing you could taste was the straight alcohol, I couldn't even finish my glass (especially since I had to drive home afterwards). We poured our glasses just after opening, using an aerator, but perhaps the bottle just needed more time to breathe and mellow out. I think this port would pair better with a less sweet dessert so you can truly appreciate the various flavors and complexity. 

Overall, this was a fun experience! We all enjoyed cooking and sharing some our favorite dishes together and researching what we should pair with our chosen dish. Despite the somewhat unfortunate ending, it was a successful dinner! :)

Wine and Cheese Pairing #1

 

My friends and I with our wine :)

My wine group and I decided to take our wine and cheese night to the fabulous and famous Wine Lab! After a lengthy conversation with the resident sommelier, Cassandra, I chose to sample the Old World Flight, which included the 2020 Sauvion Muscadet from France, the 2017 Time Waits for No One Monastrell from Spain, and the 2012 Dom. Fontbonau Cotes du Rhone Rouge from France. Cassandra recommended that we pair our Old World wines with some Old World cheeses, so we chose the Fromager D'Affinois Herb cheese from France, the El Trigal Manchego from Spain, as well as the Vermont Honey Truffle which is not an old world cheese, but our friend highly recommended it so we had to give it a try. Now, I am very picky about cheese in general, so I was hesitant approaching this tasting. I prefer soft and creamy cheeses such as Brie, but I was willing to put aside my own preferences and go out on a limb for the Manchego. 

Our three wines for tasting.

The stunning Charcuterie board with the three cheeses (from left to right): Truffle, Fromager, and Manchego

For the individual wine tasting, we started with the white from the Loire Valley in France, the 2020 Sauvion Muscadet which is made exclusively from the Melon de Bourgogne varietal. It had a pale yellow color and had an aroma of green apple and pears. It had a light body, slightly acidic, and was semi-sweet, green apple and citrus came through strongly and was delicious. The 2017 Time Waits for No One from Jumilla in Spain was of the varietal Monastrell. It had a dark red color and smelled of red fruits, especially cherry. When tasting, I found it to have a medium body and was very dry and tannic, even astringent. It also had some subtle earthy and woody notes. The last wine was the 2012 Dom. Fontbonau Cotes du Rhone Rouge from Rhone in France which is a blend of 95% Grenache and 5% Syrah. It had a dark brownish red color and smelled rich and somewhat floral. Upon tasting, some floral and oaky and smoky notes emerged. It was very dry and bold, but had a good balance of tannins to acidity. 

When tasting with the cheeses, I found the Sauvion Muscadet to pair best with the Honey Truffle, creating a sweet honey apple flavor, though it was slightly overpowering. The Manchego did not pair as well, the flavors of the wine seemed more muted and tasted drier because of the lack of fattiness and sweetness in the cheese. The Fromager seemed to cut the acidity and give a bitter aftertaste, the herbs kind of clashed with citrus although I found it to be a nice contrast. 

The Monastrell paired with the Manchego was a very bitter pairing, but also brought out some strong earthy and woody notes. I thought they paired fairly well but it wasn't necessarily my favorite. The best pairing for this wine was the Fromager, in my opinion. The herbs of the cheese paired fantastic with the earthiness, woodiness, and fruitiness of the wine, while the fattiness cut the astringency of the wine. The Honey Truffle was an interesting pairing, the sweetness of the cheese overpowered most of the flavors in the wine, but I thought the fattiness cut the astringency similar to the Fromager. 

The Cotes du Rhone Rouge paired best with the Fromager, the herbs of the cheese enhanced the woody and smoky flavors beautifully and brought out more of the tannins in the wine. The Honey Truffle was not a good pairing with this wine, it covered pretty much all of the flavor in the wine and the dryness made the cheese taste unbearably sweet. The Manchego mostly overpowered the wine as both were fairly bitter, but the aftertaste was actually more pleasant than the initial taste because the wine mellowed out on my palate. 

Overall, I think my favorite pairing was the Cotes du Rhone Rouge with the Fromager because of the herb and earthy combination that was new to me but very enjoyable. 

Cheers to good friends and good wine! And good bourbon I guess hahah :)

 

Tasting - Casa Bella Lambrusco

 

This is the Casa Bella Lambrusco, which is named for the varietal and means "wild grape". It is from the region of Emilia IGT in Italy, which is nearly the only place that produces this varietal. It has a vintage year of 2021 and cost $8. 

The tasting notes of this wine describe it as "a sweet sparkling red wine... it has a vivacious aroma of flower and wild berries." Wine Folly describes this wine has having the aromas and flavors of strawberry, blackberry, rhubarb, hibiscus, and potting soil [pg 122]. 

This wine had a beautiful deep purple color. Immediately from the first sniff, I could tell this wine was going to be very sweet, and is probably the sweetest wine I've ever tasted. It had strong flavors and aromas of wild berries, specifically strawberry, blueberry, and blackberry. It had a medium body, but felt very viscous in my mouth due to the high sugars. I tasted this wine with brie cheese, and I did not expect it to pair well due to the extreme sweetness of the wine. However, it was a nice pairing because the sweetness mixed with the creaminess of the brie and tasted almost like berry ice cream. Delicious!

Tasting - Sonoma Cutrer Rose of Pinot Noir

 

This is the Sonoma-Curtrer Rose. It is of the varietal Pinot Noir, from the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California, USA. It has a vintage year of 2021 and cost $39. 

According to Christopher Null, the founder and editor in chief of Drinkhacker, this rose "offers a classic Provence-style construction... driven by white flowers, ripe strawberry, and lingering vanilla notes as the wine develops in glass. Lemon notes emerge late in the game, the lightest layer of florals lifting the otherwise vanilla-laden, nougat-like sweetness, just a touch" [1].

Wine Folly describes a pinot noir as a "light-bodied red [that] is loved for its red fruit and spice flavors that are accentuated by a long, smooth, soft-tannin finish" [pg 150] with notes of cherry, raspberry, clove, mushroom, and vanilla.

From my tasting, I noticed some floral elements as well as some notes of red fruit. It was crisp and off-dry with noticeable acidity. The sweetness seemed to develop as well, with a nice sweet initial taste that had a drier aftertaste. I tasted this wine with some brie cheese as well, which happens to be one of my favorite cheeses so I was excited to try this pairing. The brie definitely brought out a sweeter tone from the wine, and highlighted some earthy tones that I did not detect before. Overall, I enjoyed this wine and appreciated the brie pairing. 

References: 

[1] https://www.drinkhacker.com/2022/04/26/review-2021-sonoma-cutrer-rose-of-pinot-noir-russian-river-valley/