Wine Dinner- Homemade and Home Planned

Two weekends ago, two of my friends and decided to make our own wine dinner. We decided to do our own, from scratch, meal. We also decided to chose our own wine pairings with the help of someone in the Vintage Cellar. Betsy, Kristen and I all went to the Vintage Cellar first with a list of the different courses. We went up to the first person we met at the store. He was the youngest one there wand might have made some mistakes with the wine pairings. The courses and wines were as follows, there were four of them:

Courses and Pairings:
1st Course: Several different types of cheeses including: bree, gouda, cheddar, colby-jack and crackers with Chateau de Roquefort Cotes de Provence Corail Rose
2nd Course: Bruschetta with gPG Garganega Pinot Grigio (This one was definitely the best)
3rd Course: Pasta Primavera with Monte Antico Toscana red blend
4th Course: Apple crisp and homestead creamery vanilla ice cream with Eudald Massana Noya Familia Brut Cava


Chateau de Roquefort Cotes de Provence Corail Rose: Paired with Cheese
 
Region: Provence
Country: France
Year: 2010
Price: $7.95
Shop: Vintage Cellar
Review: Well textured, juicy and refreshing with lingering flavors of flowers, minerals and earth. (V.O.S. Selections, New York)
My Review: This wine was paired reasonably well. It smelled like roses and slightly of orange peels. There was also that slight lemony smell that I associate with pledge. It was good with the brie, I think because the fatty pastry took some of the acid out of it. But some of the other cheeses were overpowered by it. I think the acid was a little high in the wine for that to have happened.



gPg Garganega Pinot Grigio: Paired with Bruschetta
 
Region: Venezie
Country: Italy
Year: 2010
Price: $8.95
Shop: Vintage Cellar
Review:  gPG is from the delle Venezie regions of north-eastern Italy. A clean crisp palate with plenty of texture and weight follows aromas of apples and zesty lemons.  It's perfect with grilled white fish or a light risotto. 
My Review: This wine and food pairing was amazing. The acid was softened by the olive oil in the bread in the bruschetta. This made the spices in the bruschetta come out with a bang! I loved it. The wine smelled like nothing honestly, only alcohol and acid that hit the face. The taste though had something to it. It tasted like the acid from an orange peel, mixed with some apple juice. It was very crisp and clean tasting. 


Monte Antico Toscana: Paired with the Pasta
 
Region: Tuscany
Country: Italy
Year: 2007
Price: $13.95
Shop: Vintage Cellar
Review: This blend is a result of the synergy between Italian wine specialist Neil Empson and renowned winemaker Franco Bernabei. From the finest grapes and prime Tuscan hillsides, fruit and soil selection allow the wine to achieve consistent quality with each vintage. aged 1 year in oak and 6 months in bottle, its full body and lush, fruity flavor make this a perfect match for cheese, pasta and all meat dishes.
My Review: This was the only wine that I liked by itself. I definitely smelled raisins and plumbs. I thought it might have been a little heavy for the pasta. It had a very weak body, almost to the point that it was a flaw. And yet the flavors were still there enough that sometimes they overpowered the pasta. I ended up enjoying the pasta and the wine separately because that was how I thought they tasted best.

 Eudald Massana Noya Familia Brut Cava: Paired with Apple Cobbler and Ice Cream

 
Region: Cava
Country: Spain
Year: Non Vintage
Price: $14.95
Shop: Vintage Cellar
Review: From a 9th generation winemaker who is pushing the envelope for quality and value.  This traditional-styled Cava is a blend of Macabeu, XarelAlo, Parellada and Chardonnay all grown in organic/biodynamic vineyards.  Our first reaction to tasting it was, “Wow – this is really good!”  There’s plenty of elegant white and even some red fruit set off by a fine yeasty/bready character and a dash of seaside minerality.  Creamy, with small, refined bubbles, and ready to enjoy anytime you need a little lift.
My Review: This wine literally sucked the sweet right out of the dessert. The brut part should have tipped us off that the guy was making a very bad recommendation.I stopped drinking it so that I could enjoy the apple crisp. I guess it was a good aperitif. Also I have no idea what this smelled like... It was the end of the meal. It was very citrusy with a bitter on the end like baking soda, only not that strong. I did not get any yeasty flavor like the other review claims. There was also very few fruit flavors only really an orange, but an out of season one.

So overall the dinner was a huge success in my opinion. The people not in the wine class learned some things. At least in the beginning of the meal, when we were able to teach coherently.

I am not sure why these pictures are all blurry. My iphone must have been having a bad day or something.