1st Wine Dinner

This week  (1/29 - 2/4) I did a little research into what food to pair with wines. Through searching, I chose three easy things to make/have to make my first wine dinner possible. These things were, chips and salsa to pair with a Pinot Grigio wine, a veggie pizza to pair with a Rosé wine, and a piece of chocolate cake to pair with a red wine. So I went to the store, got these things and made my affordable wine dinner.

 

Here is me with a Vendange Pinot Grigio ($5 - 500ml), a varietal wine. I chilled it because it is a white wine and online it said to. This wine doesn't have a vintage, but it is probably pretty current since it is a white wine. This wine comes from Lodi, California and has a 12.5 percent alcohol percentage. It says on it that it tastes "refreshing and light bodied with hints of melon and pear."

This wine had a light fruity aroma and when I tasted it, it tasted like grapes with a hint of pear. (Which make sense, since it says pair flavors on the wine package. Thia wine has a light flavor that is a little tangy and sweet.

When I paired the acidity of the wine with the chips and salsa, it actually made the salsa taste more fresh, less intense, and sweet. (It's usually pretty salty and spicy.) The wine did not overpower the chips and salsa. The chips and salsa however did not seem to affect the wine flavor. Overall I think my first dish paired decently well with the wine because the wine transformed the taste of the food a little. It also seemed to make the wine even lighter. (Probably because the salsa has a strong flavor.)

For the next dish, I had a veggie pizza with a Sutter Home white zinfandel wine ($6 for pack of 4 187ml). This wine was close to a Rosé wine and it is varietal wine. I also chilled this one because it was recommended to do so. This wine come from St. Helena, California and again doesn't have a vintage. It says on the package that this wine has a delicate berry aromas which lead to sweet, creamy strawberry and melon flavors with a crisp finish.

When smelling it, it had an aroma of fruity grape or berry. When I tasted it, it has a medium flavor intensity. The flavors were hard to tell, but it was a little tart and tangy.

When I paired the acidity of the wine with the veggie pizza, the veggie pizza definitely overtook the wine flavor. This wine and this veggie pizza were not a great wine pairing since the flavors of the pizza were too intense to mix with the flavors of the wine to get a new taste. The veggie pizza also did not seem to change the flavors of the wine.

For my last dish, I paired a piece of chocolate cake with a Sutter Home merlot wine ($6 for pack of 4 187ml). This wine is varietal wine and it come s from St. Helena, California. This one also doesn't have a vintage. It says on the package that this wine has "Fresh cherry aromas with hints of smoke ans spice lead to black cherry and plum flavors, with a long, smooth finish." I left this wine at room temperature since it is a red wine.

When smelling it's aroma, I smelled the smell of fruity, tangy grapes/berries. (I did do the swirl and sniff) This wine tasted super tart, bitter, dry, and left a burning feeling in my mouth.

When pairing the acidity of the wine with the chocolate cake, it actually made the chocolate taste sweeter since I think the flavors were the complete opposite from the wine. I think this red wine and chocolate cake pairing is okay since the wine helped amplify the flavors of the cake (it's sweetness), but the cake overpowered the wine. I think the cake made the wine a little lighter, but it was really intense and so far it is now my least favorite wine.