Wine Dinner Blog Report

Course 1: Appetizer

For my appetizer, I made a small plate of brie and rice crackers and rice crackers with mussels calabrian chiles, and lemon juice. I paired this with Cupcake Sauvignon Blanc and the vintage year is 2022. 

Excuse the low quality photo, I have an iPhone 11. HOWEVER, this pairing was super super good. The mussels were tinned and brined in olive oil and vinegar and came from Spain, specifically Galicia. The brie I picked up was softened to perfect so it was pretty easy to spread on the rice crackers. I chose rice crackers because of dietary restrictions, but I also loved the crunch of them with the soft brie and mussels. The chiles on top of the mussels were super good too and paired well. For the wine, the two paired well together! I chose Sauvignon Blanc because as we have been learning, it pairs well with seafood. I think the flavor of the mussels and lemon brought out bright, lemony, crisp flavors of the wine which was good. This wine didn't overpower at all and there was a great balance. I think that when I had it with the brie and rice crackers, it made it taste almost creamy and smooth like the brie itself. I don't necessarily think that the chiles were paired well with the wine just because it was pretty spicy and brought some heat. Followed up with the wine, it made the wine taste weird when it was in my mouth, almost like there was too much heat. The fat of the olive oil paired with the acid of the wine and lemon juice made it all a really good flavor. I would 100% have this again! I wouldn't say anything overpowered each other and it all complimented well.

Course 2: Main Dish 

For my main dish, I made pasta with ground turkey, spicy arrabiata sauce, and zucchini. I paired this with the Alaia Marisa Red Blend from Spain and the vintage year was 2020. 

This dish was really good. I used a mandolin to get my zucchini super thin and it was a great addition to the pasta. The spiciness of the meal was tolerable and added a nice kick. I really like spice so I enjoyed this! However... this dish did not pair well with the wine. I had the Alaia "Marisa" Red Blend from Spain and didn't enjoy it which was a bummer. I picked it up from the Vintage Cellar because on the label it mentioned how it was a stand out wine for the price and was pretty good. However, it had a lot of spice and pepper flavors that just didn't pair well with the spiciness of the dish. It also smelled a little bit like rubbing alcohol so I think that threw me off, too. I think that the wine was too heavy for this dish and needed to be paired with red meat like steak. The acidity was high and it tasted like the tannins were too. I usually don't mind that, but it didn't pair well. They clashed for sure. The wine had a big bitter bite to it too. The blend was 85% prieto picudo and 15% tempranillo. I have never had prieto picudo before so maybe I just don't like the grape! I couldn't find anything in the Wine Folly text giving me a descriptor on the wine, but it was tasting like it has a super unique taste that I had never had before. I felt like I was tasting notes of dark berries and graphite. 

                              

Course 3: Dessert

For my final course and dessert, I had a slice of limoncello cake that I picked up from Earth Fare! I paired this with a small bottle of Italian sparkling wine, Villa Jolanda I LOVE YOU wine. 

This pairing was interesting. The cake was a lot sweeter than I expected. I was excited for a bright lemon flavor and it lacked on that. The sparkling wine was good, but I don't think the two paired well. The wine was not very crisp but was also sweet, so when pairing it with the cake, the flavors weren't really complimentary of one another and I feel like they were almost drowned out. The wine was bubbly, fresh, and had notes of fruits like apples and pears. I think if it was more crisp, it would've paired better. The sweetness of the cake didn't pair well with the fruity flavors of the wine. It wasn't acidic at all and pretty mellow which I was a little disappointed in. It tasted like the two overwhelmed each other and I couldn't get a good read on either! I also think the bubbles were a little too much for me and something like a crisp white would've been better with this.