Wine Dinner with the Family

The same weekend that I visited the cidery, I had the opportunity to share what I learned in the wine class with my family over a nice meal and a couple glasses of wine.  I knew that I had wanted to have a mix of red a white, sweet and dry so I started with that.  I also knew that I wanted to incorporate the use of my mothers new wok, so I found a recipe for fried rice and sausage.  I also knew that I wanted to have a cheese and meat appetizer, and I told my mom to surprise me for dessert.


I went to the local Whole Foods Market and was able to find a couple sausages and some creamy cheese.  The first wine that we paired with the salami and cheese was an Alsatian Gewurztraminer.  The wine was sweet, but still had a nice dry backbone.  The wine alone was interesting but with the cheese and meat it was richer and more complex.  I thought that the salami was great, a little too fatty, but my girlfriend thought it was too heavy and we took a break before eating the main dish.  The wine was received well by all but I think my first dinner had a better appetizer and wine pairing.

The main dish was rice fried with mushrooms, peppers, sausage and scallions.  It was a relatively easy prep and cook time compared to wok cooking that I had in the past. We paired the main course with a Cabernet Sauvignon called Sextant.  This wine by itself was incredibly smooth, very bold flavor with the perfect balance of tannics texture. I found that the wine also cut the spiciness of the sausage well and made a good combination with the rice.

For the surprise dessert, my mom picked up rich carrot cupcakes from Costco that was enough for all the wine dinners I will have for the remainder of 2015.  The rich creamy texture of the cupcake paired nicely with the Apothic Red that my sister had brought.  It was a very bold red wine that had hints of plum, cherry, and chocolate.  I thought that the pairing with the carrot cake was good, but the best pairing of the night was the Sextant with the main course.  Although this was a great wine, I won't be able to afford $30 dollar bottle on the regular.  I was very happy with this dinner and I can't wait to see what pairing creations I make next.