I had the opportunity to go home this weekend and see my family before heading out for spring break (and more wine adventures). My parents are very hard workers and I figured this would be a good treat before going back. They have always had wine in the house since I grew up, and my mom was fond of a glass or two once the work week was winding down. My father and sister, on the other hand were more beer drinkers, but never turned down a homemade wine dinner from me. Because I had access to their cellar, I was able to pick the food first and then pair the wines next. I knew I wanted a cheese appetizer so I went with a brick of brie and a creamy soft cow cheese that was from a local farm outside of Philadelphia. The main course was going to be grilled hot Italian sausages. My family loves this recipe and I wanted to make it better with the addition of wine. The side dish I chose was sauteed green beans with onion, garlic, salt and pepper. I figured a lighter white would compliment it nicely and I could match two wines with the main dinner.
From there, I knew that I wanted a set of wines that we're too outrageous and could compliment the food well. I knew I was going to have at least one red with the cheese, but I was leaning more towards white for the food since I know my mom is a fan of white wine. With these parameters I came up with the combination seen below:
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| The wines, and the cool opener that I used to pop the corks |
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| The Bordeaux bottle was more useful if I knew French |
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| Mom and Gina sit down with the Butternut to see how the cheese pairs |
The decisions were:
1) 2009 Bordeaux: Grand Vin de Bordeaux Chateau Mondesir
2) 2012 Paradise Peak Sweet Riesling
3) 2012 Butternut California Chardonnay.
Beginning with the appetizer of cheese, the Bordeaux paired exceptionally well. I have always been a fan of this wine on its own but the compliment of the rural Philadelphia cheese was exceptional. The texture was so alluring and it felt like the wine was sliding over every taste receptor in my mouth. I found that there was only a slight tannic aftertaste but once the cheese came in, that disappeared. I drank most of this bottle and found it to pair well with the green beans and the sausage nicely. Not any outstanding effects from the dinner, but it still matched effectively. My mother, who hasn't always been a fan of red wines, tasted the Bordeaux initially and wasn't impressed. She was turned off by the acidity and thought she would put it down for the rest of the night. But when I told her that she needed to try it with the cheeses, she was astounded at how much smoother the taste became. She kept raving for the rest of the night how she needs to go back and try every red wine again paired with something. She was very appreciative of the experience and I'm very glad I could have been a part of it.
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| Everyone was eager to try dinner |
The next wine that I tasted was the Butternut. It has a flavor profile similar to its name and smelled like a sweet squash with hints of pumpkin. Since it was a Chardonnay, I figured the mouth-feel would be more buttery than I expected, but it was pleasing nonetheless. I really enjoyed this wine with the green beans, and it suited the sausage well. The semi sweetness of the wine complimented the spicy sausage rather favorably. I thought it would go well with the cheese but that was something unlike anything I ever tasted.
Immediately, from the first sip of Butternut, after having the brie and garlic cracker combination, the wine turned to sugar in my mouth. The cheese amplified the sugars to an extremely saccharine flavor that made me almost want to spit it out. I made it through the next few sips and it tasted almost identical to the Pistachio Almond ice cream that I used to serve when I worked at Baskin Robbins (Never Forget). It had a pleasing mouthfeel, but the sugar levels were too high after the cheese was tasted. I would recommend this to my girlfriend as she is a fan of these sweeter wines.
The final wine was the Paradise Peak sweet Riesling and it also stuck true to its name. It was very sweet upon initial tasting and I got notes of pear and a bit of lemon. It was not as sweet as the Butternut with the cheese, and it did a good job of pairing with every item chosen. Since it was served chilled (along with the chardonnay) it went very well with the sausage. My sister was a big fan of this and she wrote down to pick it up again in the future. I had a few tastes with this wine and the food, but I wished I would have given it more attention. It was sweet like the other white, but the rich seduction of the Bordeaux kept me wanting more. I think that if I were to use this wine in the future, I would choose a younger red, maybe even leave reds out of the tasting and bring the Riesling in for a front and center performance.
Overall this tasting was a blast and I was able to share knowledge that I picked up from the class. I will be returning for another weekend soon, and I want to bring some of my own wines so that they can experience what I've been trying for class. I will be trying a bolder meal now that I've built my confidence up a bit and I am very excited to see what happens. Until next wine....
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