Dinner - Homemade (All Sorts)

(From left to right) Rob, Erik, Rachel (me), Ryan, Jackie,
and Randy enjoying their Sunday evening with wine, food,
and the Pro Bowl!

On Sunday a group of my friends (also Geography of Wine students) and I gathered together at my apartment to experience our first Wine Dinner of the semester. The theme? Well, none. The idea of this dinner was to come together and try three different wines with a red meat, poultry, and seafood dish. The night was really enjoyable and definitely a different dinner experience as we all sat, ate, and sipped while trying to take notes on what exactly we were tasting...most of us had no idea! This post will attempt to describe the food, the wine, and how each paired with each other.

Homemade food for our dinner. Special thanks to my
boyfriend (not pictured above) for helping cook!

The first prepared dish was a beef and venison (my favorite!) meat sauce served over linguine. The sauce itself was sweet, but mixed with the meat, was a nice blend--savory with hints of sweet, garlic, and onions. Overall, the meat sauce was bold and flavorful.

The second dish was chicken and broccoli alfredo served over linguine. The sauce was made from scratch, consisting mostly of parmesan cheese, heavy cream, and milk. It was smooth, creamy, and cheesy...very cheesy! Other than the cheesy goodness, there wasn't many other prominent tastes..but who needs more than cheese in this dish!? Overall, the dish was mild in taste, but heavy in consistency.

The third dish was garlic butter shrimp, also served over linguine. The sauce was made from scratch, mostly consisting of butter and garlic with a hint of lemon. This dish was light on the stomach but flavorful on the taste buds. The parsley garnish seemed to bring out the flavors (as I have forgotten to garnish it in the past, and noticed a difference). Overall, this dish is similar to a shrimp scampi.

Now for the WINE... Dinner was served with three different wines, two of which were sweet and the the third, semi-dry. Each wine was first tasted on it own and then again with each of the dishes for comparison.

SANGRIA:

Yellow Tail Sangria, Australia

Winemaker's Notes: “Sangria is a delicious mix of citrus and red wine. The aroma is perfumed and enticing with orange rind, citrus and red berry notes that splashes onto the palate with a soft sweet-citrus flavor and hints of spirit.”
(http://www.discoveryellowtail.com/
wine/sangria.php)

Winemaker's Food Pairings: Roast beef, beef stew, peppercorn steak, chicken teriyaki, chicken parmesan, roast duck, grilled shrimp, fried calamari, baked oysters, blue cheese, sharp cheddar, gruyere


The following reviews are my own:

On It's Own: I think that the winemaker's notes are very accurate. However, to me, the most prominent feature to this beautiful violet wine, was the berries! I only sensed a hint of citrus. While I generally cannot drink an abundance of sweet wine without being overwhelmed, this Sangria found a way to be light, sweet, but not over-the-top. I didn't feel like I was drinking dessert, and I will definitely continue to drink this. (Especially for the price of $6.99)

With Meat Sauce: Delicious! Sweet paired with savory! Both the wine and the meat sauce were prominent, but did not clash. I almost think the sweetness of the Sangria brought out the taste of the meat more.

With Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo: This pairing was okay. The flavors of the wine and the food didn't necessarily clash, but the Sangria definitely masked the alfredo sauce, making it taste bland and lose all of it's delicious cheesy goodness. I would not recommend this combination, unless you don't like the taste of alfredo, in which case, the Sangria would be your saving grace!

With Garlic Butter Shrimp: This combination was very good. Sweet and buttery! All the berry flavors were present from the Sangria, and a new taste became prominent in the shrimp sauce...lemon! The Sangria's citrus flavors also showed themselves more. In fact, the general consensus of the dinner group was that the combination almost tasted like Sprite with a splash of berry!

COOL RED BLEND:

RELAX Cool Red Blend, Germany

Winemaker's Notes: "A pleasant alternative to traditional reds, RELAX Cool Red is an approachable Beaujolais-type wine with flavors of black cherries and plums, complemented by soft tannins and a touch of velvety sweetness. Serve chilled." (http://relaxwines.com/#cool-red.php)

Winemaker's Food Pairings: “RELAX Cool Red is a great companion to all kinds of comfort foods, from cheeses and light appetizers to pizza and hamburgers. It pairs perfectly with warm summer nights on the back deck, breezy afternoons by the pool - and adventurous redheads.”  (http://relaxwines.com/#cool-red.php)

The following reviews are my own:

On It's Own: The RELAX Cool Red was not my favorite wine. Was is bad? No. But, was it good? No. I wouldn't buy it again. I'm too novice to pick out what aspects I really didn't like, but I think it might've been overly sweet for me? It almost made me do a little pucker. I don't feel like the different tastes in the wine meshed together well. Maybe it would've tasted better if it was a warm summer night on the back deck and I was a redhead...(see above food pairing comment)

With Meat Sauce: Horrible together. Just bad. Do I have to say more? Two completely different tastes that clashed...HARD. Definitely disagree with the winemaker's notes saying this wine would be good with hamburgers. Whatever they see, I just don't.

With Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo: I also did not like this combination. I don't know what about the two tastes clashed, but they clashed. Not as hard as with the meat sauce, but definitely not complimentary. After pairing this wine with both the meat sauce and this, I think that the only application to drinking this wine would be alone or with very light foods, desserts, or fruit...but who knows, I'm no expert.

With Garlic Butter Shrimp: This was the only pairing that I liked with this wine. It was sweet and buttery, like the sangria was, but no sprite taste this time. Probably because this wine isn't citrusy. The food actually made the wine taste better to me, which was nice after hating the other pairings and not being a huge fan of the wine even on its own.

RIESLING:

RELAX Riesling, Germany (MY FAVORITE)

Winemaker's Notes: “It's no wonder RELAX Riesling is America's favorite Riesling. A Wine Enthusiast "Best Buy," RELAX Riesling is a refreshing, crisp, authentically German Riesling. Slightly dry with an enticing fruity bouquet, it shows intense flavors of apples and peaches with a hint of citrus. Serve chilled.” (http://relaxwines.com/#riesling.php)

Winemaker's Food Pairings: “RELAX Riesling is delicious on its own, and it pairs perfectly with a variety of foods, from grilled seafood and poultry to spicy oriental dishes and fresh salads. RELAX Riesling is an ideal choice for Saturday picnics at the park, impromptu dinners with friends and flirtatious late night get-togethers.” (http://relaxwines.com/#riesling.php)

The following reviews are my own:

On It's Own: I LOVE THIS WINE. It's been my favorite for awhile, and there's always at least a bottle at my apartment. For the $10 price, you can't beat the taste. It's crisp and slightly dry, but at the same time fruity. Over the other flavors, I taste peach the most. It's good on it's own and pretty much with anything, due to it's ability to be both dry and sweet at the same time.

With Meat Sauce: Really good combo! I think that the meat sauce brought out the sweeter side in the wine, making it less dry tasting. Both the wine and meat sauce had tastes that were dominant, but didn't clash, and instead worked together in perfect harmony.

With Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo: This combination wasn't bad, but wasn't my favorite. The Riesling actually dominated the Alfredo, and for that reason I wouldn't pair them together again. Other than the Alfredo getting washed out, I didn't notice any new tastes, or observed any flavors clashing.

With Garlic Butter Shrimp: SO GOOD. Very complimentary. Both the Riesling and the shrimp dish were equally displayed and tasted. I liked the addition of the buttery taste to the Riesling. Both the food and the wine were enhanced by each other.

Overall, this Wine Dinner was a great experience! A bit overwhelming at times, because at this point I don't really know how to describe what I'm tasting or not tasting. I look forward to having another dinner and applying new knowledge that comes from this course!

My Personal Experience with Wine Thus Far

Let's just start by saying I sincerely love wine. Why? Well, I love the many different styles and tastes, the social settings (...or not social, if you just like to "unwined" at home) in which wine can be drunk, and its ability to affect the actual tastes of food. I love that every bottle you open is unique in its own way. 

While I say that I love wine, I guess at this point in my life, I really love the appeal and the unknown of it. Do I like drinking wine? Yes, of course. But, do I really know a lot about it? No, not at all. Having a few glasses a week, and tending to buy the same wines over and over again doesn't leave me with much knowledge or learning experience. I love the idea of getting to know more and really figuring out what I like and don't like. 

Right now, like most college students, my taste for wine is more on the sweeter, lighter side. While I can go dryer than Moscato and White Zinfandel, like a medium-bodied Riesling or even Pinot Grigio, I have yet to acquire a taste for the dry wines. I don't like when wine is so dry it makes me pucker. Maybe I'll never come to like the dry wines, but maybe I can learn to pick the right ones for my taste. Who knows! But I am always looking forward to try new wines and learn more. 

I am looking forward to this course because I want to know more, and build the confidence to explore more wines, and talk to people about it. In specific, these are some things I hope to takeaway from this course:

- How to properly taste wine and determine the elements I do and don't like.

- The proper storage of wine both before and after opening. Does it really make that much of a difference?

- Does the use of different glassware make a difference with different wines? Or is it just an aesthetic thing?

- How to properly serve wine. At what temperatures? Do I let it breathe? How do you know what to do for each type of wine?

- How to properly pair cheese and other foods with wine, and how to actually go about tasting it.

- The verbiage of all things wine. How can I accurately describe what I'm tasting?

- How to determine the quality of wine without using just the price. For example, Boyer said Cool Woods Shiraz is a great wine even though it's $6. How do you know that?

I can't wait to soak up everything I can, and hopefully finish the semester with a lot more wine knowledge!!