My first wine dinner was with a large group of friends on February 1st, 2023. The party ended up being a mostly geography department hang out which was really nice and I could connect with many old friends and make new friends too. For our dinner, we had a chicken pot pie bake, an Asian-style beef and broccoli, and oreo brownies (which I made for the event). While both the proteins could have been main courses instead of one as an entre and an additional appetizer, I was still able to taste them as their own unique dishes.
The Wine: Donnhoff Tonschiefer Riesling
- Grape Variety - Riesling
- Country of Origin - German
- Region of Origin - Nahe
- Vintage Year - 2020
- Price - $29.99
"The zippy underripe scents of green apple and papaya alongside a delicate plastic petrol touch like Saran-Wrap singe your nostrils. The acid is loud but focused steering your tastebuds towards grapefruit on the attack slowly decaying to a bitter sweat-dried apricot finish." (Robert Sucher III)
Wine Folly Reference (158 - 159):
The aromatic wine variety can produce white wines ranging in style from bone-dry to very sweet. The main notes include lime, green apple, beeswax, jasmine, and petroleum; and specific notes of apricot, Meyer lemon, and wet slate from Germany-made rieslings.
My Review:
On its own, I didn't pick up as many flavors as I would have anticipated. I could easily smell and taste fruitier notes of pear and peach, but those were really the only notes I got. I liked how this Riesling wasn't as sweet as they usually are; there was still a hint of sweetness in the wine, but it wasn't overwhelming the more subtle notes. The wine was overall dry and light.
Pairing Notes:
I paired this wine with the chicken pot pie bake because I thought the Riesling would pair best with the chicken (at least better than it would with the other courses), and I thought the white should have also gone first in the dinner. With the chicken pot pie, the butteriness of the sauce and the flaky biscuit worked pretty well together, especially since the wine was on the drier side. However, the wine was more acidic than I thought, and there was a bit of conflict with the large amount of cream in the dish. I think I could have done better with this pairing and found something that would have balanced the richness better - probably a lighter, drier red.
The Wine: Franco Serra Barbera D'Alba
- Grape Variety - Barbera
- Country of Origin - Italy
- Region of Origin - Piedmont
- Vintage Year - 2021
- Price - $16
"This 4th-generation wine-making family is producing pure and classic Barbera. Fresh and vibrant on the nose with bright aromas of sour cherry, raspberry, violets, and clove. The palate is driven by blue fruit flavors with dry herbs that are framed by fine tannins and bright acidity." (Jeff Porter)
Wine Folly Reference (79):
This is the everyday drinking red wine of the Italian Piedmont - they're approachable, affordable, and have lip-smacking high acidity. Flavor notes include tart cherry, licorice, blackberry, dried herbs, and black pepper.
My Review:
The wine had a richness to it - there was a forward taste of cherry and blackberry with a strong tobacco and metallic taste which was borderline unpleasant to my palate. There was also a hint of something citrusy and chocolatey in the finish which was an interesting complex. The wine was pretty balanced and not as tannic as I would expect.
Pairing Notes:
With the beef and broccoli, the wine emerged to taste more tobacco forward which caught me off-guard since I'm already very sensitive to tobacco/smoke. It probably was too much for my taste, but I had other friends around me say they loved it. The wine did enhance the sauce in a pleasant way since it brought out the more fruity elements of the sauce, but it did introduce an odd flavor into the beef - something tasting a little wonky and funky.
The Wine: Domaine de Fontbonau Cotes du Rhone
- Grape Variety - Port
- Country of Origin - Portugal
- Region of Origin - Douro
- Vintage Year - N/A
- Price - $15.99
"The special reserve still has the lusciously ripe, vibrant fruit of youth and lovely tannins, which give it the slightly peppery spice on the tongue. But it also has the elegance of age: the softness and smoothness that can only be achieved by slow aging in old oak barrels"
Wine Folly Reference (154):
The most famous fortified wine of Portugal is a blend made in a variety of styles - where each one is unique. Major flavor notes include black plum, dried cherry, chocolate, raisin, and cinnamon.
My Review:
The port on its own was incredibly sweet, too much for my palate, and rich with black cherry and dark chocolate. There was a nice nutty quality in the port too which was a warmth that helped enhance the other fruity flavors. The port was also a lot more acidic than I anticipated, but it helped balance out all the sugar in there.
Pairing Notes:
With the oreo brownies, the port paired really well. The dark chocolate in the wine matched really well with the richer, fudgy brownies, and the nuttiness brought out a peanut flavor in the brownies too. The brownies didn't really enhance the cherry flavors in the wine beyond building on the sweetness. I think this combination worked the best, but it was by far the sweetest and made me crave a glass of water.
I learned a lot about wine pairings through this exercise; both through positive and negative experiences. However, I wish that there was a little more coordination and cohesion between all of the dishes since there wasn't a clear theme between the meals which could have easily elevated the whole experience more. When we planned the event, it was more "come with what you want" and thus there wasn't as much harmony with the meals as I think there could have been. Since I planned to bring the port before I made the brownies, there was a lot more cohesion between the two; and the other two dishes didn't have specific pairings. The next wine dinner I do will hopefully have a lot more cohesion between all the dishes and the respective wine pairings.
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