Dinner #2 - More Food with Friends

 

Appetizer 

For the appetizer, we had homemade butter chicken wings paired with Cupcake Angel Food.

Name of Wine: Cupcake Angel Food

Variety of Grapes: Blend

Bottle Description:
"Our Angel Food is a luscious aromatic white blend made from premium grapes from our sun-drenched vineyards in California. Reminiscent of Angel Food Cake, this wine has flavors of pineapple, vanilla bean, and toasted coconut that culminate in a creamy mouthful. Enjoy with spicy Buffalo wings, chicken quesadillas, or caramel popcorn and a movie."

My Review:
For our first course we had butter chicken wings and Cupcake Angel Food white wine blend. The initial taste of the wine had notes of coconut with a sweetish creamy finish. There was no distinct aroma to the wine. When paired with the wings, the wine tasted a little less sweet than it did alone. The wings also made the wine more smooth and have a warmer taste. Overall, I enjoyed the wine more with the food, but not a significant amount. The pairing was fine, but the wine was not good enough to begin with. I would not recommend. 

Entrée 

For the main course, we had homemade butter chicken and naan with Chateau Michelle Sweet Riesling.

Name of Wine: Chateau Michelle Sweet Riesling

Variety of Grapes: Riesling

Bottle Description:
"This harvest select sweet Riesling captures the rich, ripe flavor of peach -  and the results are stunning paired with more fruit, soft cheese or a spicy main course."

My Review:
The main course consisted of butter chicken and naan paired with Chateau Michelle Sweet Riesling. My first impression of wine was that it had a light floral scent. It was very sweet, but I was not able to detect any  distinctive flavors. I certainly was not able to taste the "ripe flavor of peach" that the bottle described this wine as. With the wine, the garlic naan and butter chicken tasted more rich and flavorful. The spice of the butter chicken was more noticeable with the wine. Overall, I enjoyed this pairing a lot and would do it again. 

Dessert

For dessert, we had Godiva Lava Cakes with Taylor Cream Sherry.

Name of Wine: Taylor Cream Sherry

Variety of Grapes: Blend

Bottle Description:
"A full bodied, moderately sweet sherry with nuances of toffee and roasted nuts. Delicious with dessert or after dinner. Serve chilled or at room temperature."

My Review:
For dessert, we had lava cakes with Taylor Cream Sherry. This was the strangest wine I have ever had. The aroma was a mix of a woody oak, sugar, and smokiness. This wine tasted a lot like maple syrup, which was very unexpected. The lava cakes were very sweet to begin with, but when paired with the wine there was almost too much sweetness. It was like pouring maple syrup on my chocolate cake. Although the wine was strange, I oddly enjoyed it and would probably drink it again. I do not think I would make this pairing again though. I think that this wine is better consumed alone.

 

 

Tasting - White Zinfandel (Crane Lake)

Name: White Zinfandel

Variety of grapes: Zinfandel

Country of origin: USA

Region of origin: California

Vintage year: 2019

Price: $6.95

Bottle Description:
"Taste is strawberry, peach, and raspberry. The flavor profile is medium sweet."

Wine Folly Text:
Page 189 of the text describes the Zinfandel grape variety. This grape can have hints of blackberry, strawberry, peach preserves, cinnamon, and sweet tobacco flavors. In the wine that we had I was only able to taste the peach. It is described as low is sweetness and high in tannins, which I would agree with.

My Review:
This wine had a fruity complex that was dominated by a peach flavor. I was not able to distinguish the strawberry or raspberry flavors that were described on the bottle. This was a drier wine than I prefer, but it was not horrible. Overall I was okay with this wine, but I have tried other White Zinfandel's that I liked more so I probably would not buy this one again.

 

Tasting - TAVO Pinot Grigio Delle Venezie DOC

Name: TAVO

Variety of the grapes: Pinot Grigio

Country of origin: Italy

Region of origin: Delle Venezie

Vintage year: 2021

Price: $12

Bottle description:
"The Redmont-Di Tonno family settled in Abruzzo decades ago to grow the Pinot Grigio grape sustainably in one of the most bio diverse areas in the world. Our desire is to finely craft authentic wines of great elegance. Enjoy."

Wine Folly Text:
Page 149 of the Wine Folly book describes the Pinot Gris (aka Pinot Grigio) grape variety. This grape is known for its "zesty white wines". Overall, my experience with this wine matched the  general description of this variety. The book describes this grape as low in body and tannins. One of the common descriptors of this grape is "crushed gravel", which I did not taste. However, I am now very curious as to how this flavor would be in a wine. 

My Review:
The first thing I noticed about this wine were the distinctive floral notes in its aroma, and in its taste. Overall, it had a light dryness to it but it was not overwhelming. I would also describe it as a smooth almost creamy finish. I did not get the chance to pair this wine with anything, but overall I enjoyed it. As someone who has primarily enjoyed sweet wines, this was one of the first dryer wines that I would consider buying again.