Wine Dinner Extravaganza

On a windy Thursday night, five wine enthusiasts gathered to drink some wine, eat some food, and be merry. These are notes of one particularly beautiful wine enthusiast. 

Buttons the cat wants to join the wine enthusiasts. 

The Appetizer

For the first course, we had a crescent roll wrapped baked apple brie and chose to pair it with a white wine blend, the Frascati shown in the picture below. 

Crescent Roll Baked Apple Brie

Frascati Volpetti

Name: Frascati DOC

Variety: Malvasia, Trebbiano, Greco 

Region: Frascati

Country: Italy

Year: 2012

Price: $7.95

Food: Crescent Roll Baked Apple Brie

http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/crescent-wrapped-baked-apple-brie/2dd12626-35e3-451e-ba1d-14465f8537b8

The Frascati smelt like lemon, grapefruit, and all around varying citrus notes. The taste however was very different than the smell. It had a plant and vegetable taste, similar to a mix between grass and broccoli. I didn't like the taste so much, as I don't prefer very vegetable aromas and tastes. The crescent roll baked apple brie was fantastic on it's own (and the chef was particularly beautiful). The dish took away the vegetable taste from the wine, and left behind the citrus notes. It also cut the acidity of the wine and made it much smoother.

The Main Course

Thankfully, I have a really great friend who cooks amazingly tasty and healthy foods. She prepared the main course which included basil balsamic chicken, spiraled zucchini Pasta with red sauce, caprese salad, and garlic bread. We paired the food with a Pinot Noir from Oregon. 

Dinner made by my wonderful friend Sara and eaten by me (and her and three others).

The wine we paired with the main course.

Name: Ponga.

Variety: Pinot Noir

Region: Marlborough

Country: New Zealand

Year: 2013

Price: $12.00

Food: Basil Balsamic Chicken, Spiraled Zucchini Pasta with Red Sauce, Garlic Wheat Bread 

When I took a sniff of this wine I sensed blackberry, black cherry, and black peppercorn. The taste, without trying the main course, was spicy, acidic, and full of black pepper. It had a heavy body and a long finish. I did not enjoy how spicy the wine was on its own. The wine brought out the sweetness of the red sauce when trying the zucchini pasta and the basil in the chicken. However, it was still extremely spicy, which I felt overpowered the wine and the food sometimes. It was such a spicy wine that didn't even want to finish it. 

The Dessert

The lovely Shanel made a very simple and yummy dessert for us all, taking advantage of the season by using strawberries. She made a Strawberry Icebox cake, which we paired with a rose wine. 

Strawberry Icebox Cake

Bellafina Rose Wine

Name: Bellafina Pink Moscato

Variety: Muscat

Region: Veneto

Country: Italy

Year: 2013

Price: $8.95

Food: No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake

http://www.thekitchn.com/summer-recipe-nobake-strawberry-icebox-cake-117900

The Bellafina smelt like grapefruit and honeysuckle. It also had a grapefruit taste, but did not have much acidity like most citrus tasting wines. It was sweet and bubbly, but the sweetness was not overpowering. There was nice balance between the sweet and bubbly. There were more floral notes in the taste as well. With the cake, neither of the flavors really transformed, it just highlighted the best within one another. The cream in the cake helped to smooth out the wine and give it a creamier mouth feel.