Wine Dinner

Up first was bruschetta paired with extra dry Montelliana Prosecco. This wine was a lighter bodied dry wine with floral aromas. There is a faint taste of fruit, but overall this wine is not very sweet. Personally this was my least favorite wine I had throughout the meal, and I would have preferred something sweeter.

When paired with a bruschetta, the wine cuts some of the sweet flavors of the bruschetta, making the pairing not ideal. While both have mild flavors, the sweetness of the tomatoes in the bruschetta was canceled out by the extra dry wine, a sweeter sparkling wine would have completed the food better. Due to the dryness of the wine the food overpowered the wine leaving the subtle fruity flavors the wine almost undetectable after taking a bite with bruschetta. A more acid or sweet wine would have stood a firmer ground when up against the bruschetta.

Despite the food overpowering the wine and the wine being too dry for the food, the food one its own was great, while the wine was not great.The bruschetta was bursting with sweet, acidic, and herbal flavors, where the wine a light body and lacking flavors. In the future a champagne that matched the acidic and fruity flavors of the tomatoes would have been ideal. While this match up was the worst in out meal, it wasn't absolutely terrible!

: $10

Name: Montelliana Prosecco 

Variety: Prosecco  

Region: Treviso in Veneto

Country: Italy  

Year: Non-vintage 

Up next was Josh’s Sauvignon Blanc paired with pesto pasta. The wine was aromatic and filled with mild fruit and grassy smells. It was a lighter bodied wine with a tart flavor. The herbal and grassy flavors of the wine paired well with the herbs and green vegetables in the pasta.

Neither the wine nor the food overwhelmed each other. For instance, the subtle sweet aspects of the wine were a good balance to the salty flavors in the pasta from the parmesan, and the herbal flavors in the wine only accentuated the pesto flavors in the pasta. The acidity of the wine complemented the food but cutting through some of the rich spinach flavors while balancing out the salty parmesan and garlic. While the dish was heavier than the wine, neither of them were overwhelming each other. The food made the wine seem lighter and a bit more acidic. Neither were too sweet for each other. 

Overall this pairing was the best! it was great that two of my favorite foods came together so well in one meal. I would certainly try this again.

 

Name: Josh Cellars

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc   

Region: California 

Country: US  

Year: 2020 

Price: $13

Our last dish was dessert! This was chocolate mug cakes, cookie and cream ice cream, and  Block Nine Pinot Noir. This wine has strong plum aromas with cherry and raspberry taste with slight tannins. This was a lighter bodied wine and paired okay with the food.

Both the food and the wine had sweet flavors. The wine complemented the sweetness of the chocolate cake and only enhanced the cake’s sweetness. The acidity of the wine complemented the rich chocolate flavors of the brownie, but muted the sweet flavors of the ice cream. Overall the wine did not overpower the cake, but certainly overpowered the ice cream. The food seemed to make the wine less sweet, since the cake and ice cream together was a very sweet combination.

Some might think the food was too sweet for the wine, but I enjoyed the milder taste of the wine that was a result of the food. This could be because I am still acquiring my taste for red, and therefore like the milder reds.

Name: Block Nine Caiden's Vineyard

Variety: Pinot Noir   

Region: California 

Country: US  

Year: 2020 

Price: 14$