While home on Spring Break, my family decided to do a wine dinner with three different wines and three different dishes. We took a trip to Wegmans because it had been recommended to us by a family friend for its great wine selection. We ended up purchasing food for dinner and bought three wines to go with each dish.
Name: Horse Heaven Hills MerlotVariety: Merlot
Region: Horse Heaven Hills, Washington
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $9.99
Winemaker Review: This medium-bodied Merlot delivers aromas of spice and blackberry, with a perfect balance of earth, dusty cocoa and ripe cherry flavors, and lingering rich velvety finish.
Name: Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier
Variety: 80% Chenin Blanc, 20% Viognier
Region: Pine Ridge Vineyards, California
Country: United States
Year: 2013
Price: $10.95
Winemaker Review: Our distinctive blend marries the crisp, honeyed citrus fruit of Chenin Blanc (80%) with the plush body, soft floral and juicy peach notes of Viognier (20%) for a lush, versatile and delicious wine. Enjoy a glass on its own or try it alongside your favorite seafood or spicy dish.
Name: Loosen Bros Riesling
Variety: Riesling
Region: Mosel
Country: Germany
Year: 2012
Price: $11.99
Winemaker Review: A crisp, fruity and refreshing Riesling from the mineral-rich slate soil of the Mosel Valley. It is an ideal companion to mildly spicy stir fry dishes and Indian curries or simply serve it as an aperitif.
For the first dish, we decided to pair the Horse Heaven Hills Merlot with a house salad and balsamic vinaigrette dressing. The wine had a little spice to it, so we thought it better to use a more neutral dish as opposed to a spicier one, which would compound the "hot" flavors. It turned out to be perfect, especially with the dressing, which complemented the fruitiness of the wine. The Merlot was smooth and medium-bodied with a long tannic finish. This was my favorite pairing of the evening.
The second pairing (with Dad pictured in the background) consisted of buffalo chicken pizza and a Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier. We thought it might be a good idea to choose a white wine to go with a spicy dish, although the buffalo chicken didn't turn out to be that overwhelming. The wine was great and had a perfect balance of smooth, mineral flavors with a sweet, fruity taste. The wine was able to temper what spiciness there was with the pizza, but the cheese did not go very well with it. I liked the wine a lot, but was not a big fan of the pizza or the pairing in general.
The third pairing of the evening was a German Riesling by the Loosen Bros with a baked pumpkin pie. I was unsure at first of whether or not this specific Riesling would work as a dessert wine, but quickly learned that it does. The pie was very flavorful and was greatly complemented by the nice acidity in the wine. The Riesling was my favorite wine of the night, with a consistency that I have not tasted in hardly any other wines. It was sweet and crisp, with a long lasting finish that had many different fruity hints.
Shown below is Mom with her favorite wine of the night, the Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier. She was a big fan of the pairing, saying that the spiciness from the buffalo chicken was complemented perfectly by the white wine's earthy flavors.
This is my family (pictured left to right: Mom, me, Dad, brother). My brother, Travis, is also in this class and is only a year younger than me. My sister who wasn't at the dinner with us is a Freshman at Radford University. My mom is a huge fan of wine and loved having the dinner and wants to have many more in the future. She was very impressed by the amount of knowledge we've already taken in from just a half of a semester in this course. My dad is not big on wine, but is starting to enjoy it more as he learns more about it through talking with us. I really enjoyed this experience and feel like I've learned a lot from it. I plan on having more dinners like this to better understand wine pairings and how a certain dish can really complement a great wine.
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