Wine Dinner #1

Last night, my friend Haley and I joined up to host our friends for a wine and food pairing dinner. We affectionately named our little dinner service 'Chateaux de Beasley', after Haley's dog, Beasley. Haley and I had some fun making snobby signs and menus for our little party.

Me holding a proud Beasley on the opening night of his restaurant

To prepare for our evening, Haley and I visited the Vintage Cellar with a preplanned menu. We wanted to start with a salad, have a pasta dish for the entree, and finish with some pie and ice cream. To accompany, we went in with the thought that we'd have a lighter white wine for the salad, a medium-bodied red for the pasta, and a sweet dessert wine for the pie. We walked out with a French  Domaine De Mus white wine, a red Italian blend called Fossi Rosso, and an Australian dessert wine called The Corker. 

The three wines of the evening

The boys got dressed up for the occasion

The first course of our meal was a Caesar salad paired with a 2017 Domaine De Mus Roussanne-Vermentino table wine. The wine is described as having a "brilliant light color", being "expressive on the nose, aromas dominated with orange blossom and lemon notes", "fresh and complex on the palate, with citrus acid notes, a pleasant length". We served this wine chilled. The wine had a fantastic nose to it, with very floral and slightly earthy notes to it. It was pretty dry, non-tannic, and very light and crisp in body.

While this appetizer wasn't the highlight of the meal, I thought this was a decent pairing. We thought the citrus-y tones of the wine would complement the creamy Caesar dressing, which was good but not outstanding. Our dinner guest, Josh, pointed out that with how peppery the dressing was, it might've been nice to go for a drier wine or a more buttery wine, like maybe some Chardonnay. I thought the light body of the wine was a good fit for the light salad, and it didn't feel like either the dish or the wine overwhelmed each other. Overall, the wine and the dish were well balanced with one another, but I didn't think any new flavors or complexities were brought out from the pairing.

Caesar salad with a French white wine

Next up was our entree. Haley and I kept it pretty simple with some spaghetti and meatballs and garlic bread, paired with a red blended wine. The Fossi Rosso was described as being a "decent every day wine" that paired well with pasta and pizza dishes, so we thought it would be a great accompaniment for this dish. The wine was a hit around the table, and I think it was the overall favorite of the 3 wines amongst our guests. It was a Tuscan mix of Sangiovese, Merlot, and Negroamaro. We decanted the wine in a serving glass to add a bit of fanciness and aesthetic to the table, which earned us a compliment or two.

The Fossi Rosso was a straightforward wine. It wasn't too tannic, had fruit-forward flavors, and not a lot of complexity or length to it. I think this made it ideal to pair with our fairly simple entree. Spaghetti and meatballs are a fairly hearty, starchy, dish with slight acidity from the tomato sauce, while the wine was not acidic at all, complementing each other. The body of the wine matched that of the dish, with more robust flavors than the starting salad and wine pairing. I think the fruitiness of the wine was a good contrast to the carb-heavy, starchy aspects of the dish (between the pasta and garlic bread) and it was nice to alternate sips of fruity wine with bites of hearty food.

Spaghetti and Meatballs with a red blend

Chef Beasley partook in the tasting

Finally, we had dessert. Dessert was a mixed berry pie served with butter pecan ice cream. I think in terms of just food, this dish was the biggest hit of the evening. Haley and I have no experience with dessert wines, so we took a bit of a risk grabbing one at random, leading to a mixed consensus. Personally, I liked the wine, but Haley and some of our guests thought the wine had an overpowering ethanol scent (I blame the fact that they're all Chemical Engineers). We all did two taste tests - one smelling the wine, and one with our noses plugged, and folks thought the wine tasted better noses plugged.

Personally, I thought this was a great wine to finish the night with. It was very sweet, very rich, and had that "heat" effect of warming you up. The wine was extremely fruit forward, especially blackberries, which was perfect for matching with the pie. The ice cream was great; I really liked the contrast between the warmth and high alcohol content of the wine with the cool, creamy ice cream. I think this pairing was really successful, and wager this is a wine that needs to be paired with a sweet food as opposed to being drunk on it's own.

Berry pie with dessert wine

After dinner, we enjoyed finishing off the remains of the wine and playing some silly games. Haley and I had a blast hosting this dinner party, and we learned some things about not just wine pairings, but also how to host and serve guests. I feel like it's a useful skill to have, and it was good fun trying it out for the first time in a casual, friendly environment.

Post-dessert toast

Winery Visit - Whitebarrel

I spent this rainy Sunday visiting the Whitebarrel winery with my friend. It was an interesting experience chatting with the folks who run the winery, and learning about their style and philosophy towards winemaking.

Entrance to the winery

I learned that one of the ways the winery owner tries to distinguish Whitebarrel from other Virginia wineries is through experimentation and the idea of "throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks". We learned that in production, the winery likes to mimic traditional Georgian styles of winemaking.

An example of this is their Chambourcin, a wine made in a unique Kakhetian (a region in the country of Georgia) style. In this region, wine is traditionally stored and fermented in an underground concrete tank. To mimic this, Whitebarrel will allow a block of concrete to sit in it's Chambourcin while it ferments, absorbing it's flavor. I definitely tasted and smelled the concrete influence in the wine when I sampled it, and it was surprisingly very good. The wine had cherry components, a light body and few tannins, all mingled with an unmistakable concrete flavor. It was an interesting experience to be able to sample such an uncommon wine, and learn about the style of production.

Another example of the winemaker's experimentation is their Vidal blanc reserve, which is unique in that it is a white wine fermented like you would red grapes, allowing the skins to stay on. This brings out a bolder, more tannic flavor than I would expect from a white. I wasn't a huge fan of this wine, but I appreciate the different method of production.

Surrounding vineyards

The land Whitebarrel sits on has been used as farmland for about a century, but vines started being grown there in 2006. The winery grows both red and white grapes, and all the wines there this year are grown on site or at other branches of the same winery, not traded from other locations. A non-comprehensive list of all the grape varieties they grow includes Riesling, Chardonnay, Vidal blanc, Seyval blanc, Cabernet franc, Cabernet sauvignon and Merlot. It's incredible to think how many varieties can fit into one plot of land. We learned on our tour that one of the benefits of this particular location are idea rain and drainage. The hills allow for good drainage, and being situated in a "rain shadow" area allows the spot to get less rain than other local regions, which is ideal for growing grapes.

We were able to sample 11 wines during our tour there (10 included in the tour + 1 thrown in on the house). All of the bottles had the same labeling (besides the name), so I didn't take the time to take pictures of every bottle, but the wines I tried included: Chardonnay, Seyval blanc, BIN #997 (a semi-sweet white and raspberry wine mix), BIN #101 (an apple wine), BIN #214 (a red mix), Chambourcin, Vidal blanc Reserve, and 4 wine infusions in Peach, Mango, Cherry, and Black Currant varieties.

Chardonnay

Seyval blanc

 

Since I'm not usually a huge fan of white wines, I wanted to take this opportunity to sample as many as a I could and it paid off. I found 2 whites that I really enjoyed here: the Seyval blanc, which had an extremely earthy, oaky flavor, and an extremely tannic component (which I did not expect from a white), and their BIN #997, which had a pinkish/orangish tint to it, bold raspberry, and the perfect level of sugar to be sweet without overpowering. I enjoyed the latter wine so much that I took a bottle home with me.

My new favorite semi-sweet wine

Trying the wine infusions was a new experience. These are unique blends of table wine with fruit, all of which sit at a 10% residual sugar level. They had two white mixes (Peach and Mango) and three red mixes (Plum, Cherry, and Black Currant). While I like a peach flavor, I found both of the white mixes to be way too sweet for easy consumption, and I don't think I could've finished an entire glass of either. The cherry infusion was reminiscent of cherry medicine, or something like snow cone syrup, so it wasn't a favorite of mine. Both my friend and I loved the black currant infusion, however, which had a deep, rich scent to it that was delightful on such a cold, dreary day.

Another shot of the vineyards

Overall, it was a valuable and enjoyable experience to be able to speak to people working on a vineyard and learn about their approach to wine making. Seeing the land and area where the wine is grown and made allowed me to appreciate the uniqueness of each wine I tried. Whitebarrel was a worthwhile trip, and I'd definitely love to visit again.

Wine Tasting - Rex Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon

Name: Rex-Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon

Region: Madera, California

Country: USA

Year: Label doesn't say!

Price: $6

Winery Review: Our hearty Cabernet is dark and intense - it's long on fruit and short on attitude. A bold, full-bodied wine with juicy blackberry, sweet plum, and pepper spice flavors.

My Review: For the price, this wine is great. This wine has a very fruit-forward smell and taste, and I picked up on blackberry and plum flavors. There is little aftertaste, and no bitterness or tannins to detect. I don't detect much complexity or any deeper flavors than fruit. For a Cabernet Sauvignon this guy has a relatively light body, and makes for a pleasant casual drinking wine. I drank this on it's own and also paired with some brie cheese, and it was great in both cases. I think I'll definitely be buying this one again as a go-to cheap sauvignon. 

Tasting - Dellatorri Chianti Classico

Name: Dellatorri

Variety: Red Wine

Region: Chianti

Country: Italy

Year: 2015

Price: $14 (discounted to $8)

Winery Review: Deep red in color with a ripe cherry nose, hints of tobacco and sweet spice. Juicy front palate with notes of oak, crisp acidity, rounded body and excellent balance.

My Review: This wine had a robust smell to it, in which I could heavily detect the cherry, tobacco, and oaky smells. The taste was a little underwhelming - the wine felt really well balanced and not at all tannic, with a very light body, but none of the flavors I smelled came forward on the palate. I didn't enjoy drinking this on it's own, so I grabbed some red pepper hummus to pair it with and I think having a slightly spicy food helped bring forth some complexity of the wine and gave it a more developed flavor. 

Tasting - Los Morros Carmenere

Name: Los Morros Carmenere

Variety: Carmenere

Region: Central Valley

Country: Chile

Year: 2014

Price: $14

Winery Review: Couldn't find any online - another reviewer says "Awesome value! Not too much tannins but earthy mushroom notes wrapping those dark red fruits were amazing. It does have a spicy pepper and leather. Dry and bold. Would go well with savory foods!"

My Review: This wine had a light and creamy mouthfeel to it, and I tasted very fruity flavors like blueberry. I also felt like this wine had almost a spicy tone to it. I ate it with some roast root vegetables and chicken and it went really well together (particularly the spiciness). 

Tasting - La Ferla Nero d'Avola

Name: La Ferla Nero d'Avola
Variety: Nero d'Avola
Region: Sicily
Country: Italy
Year: 2016
Price: $9

Winery Review: This leads off with unusual aromas of dried hay, red currant, dill and Mediterranean brush. The lively palate offers sour cherry, a touch of ground pepper and an herbaceous note alongside grippy tannins.

My Review: I couldn't detect too many notable flavors on this one, besides general fruitiness. The wine was dry and full-bodied. I think I should've paired this with a food to bring out some more richness, but I drank it on it's own. I really liked this wine for the price.

Tasting - Grand Estates Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon

Name: Columbia Crest Grand Estates
Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Columbia Valley, California
Country: USA
Year: 2016
Price: $10


Winery Review: This bold style Cabernet Sauvignon displays great complexity and structure. There are aromas of dark berry fruits and plum on the nose with chocolate and vanilla on the palate.

My Review: This wine was very fruity, and have a slightly acidic quality that made it taste pretty tart and a bit puckery. This wine had a lot of body to it, although this is typical of cabernet sauvignon and I'm not sure how it would compare to other varieties yet. I didn't pair this with anything, but it was quite good on it's own.