Today I enjoyed a homemade three course meal and three different wines while constantly taking notes with my two friends. We had an appetizer of cheesy garlic bread, main course of Italian seasoned chicken with green peppers and onions along with marinara and onion penne, and finally Luigi's strawberry Italian ice for dessert. We tasted each of these with Merlot, Rose', and Beaujolais.
First we tasted each of the three wines and recorded our initial tastings:
Name: Oak Leaf Merlot
Variety: Merlot
Region: California
Country: USA
Year: 2014
Our Review: This wine has an alcoholic, bitter, yet slightly fruity smell and a bitter, sour, no sweetness at all taste. The aftertaste was sweet and lingering and had a slight hint of plum to it. Overall, we all agreed that this wine was nothing special.
Name: Rosis Sylla Sebaste
Variety: Rose'
Region: Piedmont
Country: Italy
Year: 2013
Our Review: This wine smells sweet, floral, like candy, and very fruity--specifically like strawberries. The taste is also very fruity however not very sweet and has hints of citrus. The aftertaste tastes like lemons and strawberries. Pretty good; we're excited to try this with the chicken as we predict it will pair well.
Name: Manoir Du Carra Beaujolais Nouvrea
Variety: Beaujolais Nouvrea
Region: Burgundy
Country: France
Year: 2014
Our Review: This wine smells strongly of tropical fruits such as pineapple, mango, papaya, and passion fruit. There was no fruit taste in the beginning and the wine went down smooth with no alcohol burn. The aftertaste was slightly sweet and fruity. Good!
Now that we had an idea of how the wine tastes without the influence of food, it was time to start eating and pairing each wine with each course!
Up first, of course, was our appetizer: cheesy, garlic bread sticks
First up we tasted this appetizer with the Merlot. The cheesy, garlic bread sticks brought out the bitterness in the wine to the point where we could only taste bitter in the wine. There was a sourness component to the wine that was not there previously and a burn of alcohol on the finish. The garlic covered up any flavor of fruit in the wine and left an alcoholic aftertaste in our mouths. Overall, not a good pairing at all.
Second, we tasted this appetizer with the Rose'. Again, the cheesy garlic bread sticks brought out the sourness in the wine however we still got a slight strawberry taste but this time it tasted like pre-ripened green strawberries. The garlic was too strong for this wine and took away all of the original fruit taste. Terrible pairing!
Finally, we tasted this appetizer with the Beaujolais. Again, the bread sticks brought out the bitterness in the wine however less so in this wine that in the two previous wines. This time the wine flavor cut through the flavor of the garlic as we could still taste fruit. The bread sticks brought out more of an alcoholic aftertaste in the wine however not too bad. Still not a great pairing but definitely better than the first two.
Next, our marinara onion penne finished before the rest of the main course so we decided to record each separately to get the full effect.
Again we tried each wine with the pasta and recorded our findings.
First up, the Merlot. The pasta brought out the alcohol in the wine however was not nearly as bitter as it tasted with the appetizer pairing. There was no aftertaste as the tomato flavors in the marinara overpowered the wine but there was a slight alcohol burn.
Second, the Rose'. The pasta took away all of the fruit flavor in the wine and brought out the alcohol and there was still no aftertaste as the tomato overpowered the wine again. Not as good as the first pairing--actually not very good at all.
Finally, the Beaujolais. The pasta brought out the bitterness in the wine however it still tasted slightly fruity. This pairing left a bitter, alcoholic aftertaste in our mouths. This was the best pairing as far as the pasta went!
Next, our Italian seasoned chicken with green peppers and onions was done baking so we paired each of the three wines with the second half of our main course and took notes.
First, we tried this chicken with the Merlot. The chicken brought out more alcohol in the wine and some bitterness however there was still a slightly sweet and fruity aftertaste. Not too bad but a little too bitter for our liking.
Next, we tried the chicken with the Rose'. Right away we noticed that this dish brought out more fruitiness in the wine with no sense of alcohol and no bitterness. We still got a fruity aftertaste from the wine and all agreed that the wine went very well with the green peppers. Good pairing!
Finally, we tried this dish with the Beaujolais. At first we tasted fruitiness in the wine but then it got very bitter. The taste of the wine did not linger in our mouths as the chicken overpowered its flavor. There also was not a whole lot of alcohol taste. Overall this pairing was voted second among the three.
Now that we finished dinner, it was time for dessert! We bought a box of Luigi's Italian ice and decided to pair the strawberry flavor with each of the three wines.
First, we tried this sorbet with the Merlot. The Italian ice made the wine taste bland and covered up most of the flavor of the wine overall. There was no taste of alcohol and the aftertaste was purely the sugar from the sorbet. However, we did taste strawberry in the wine and therefore really liked this pairing!
Second, we tried the sorbet with the Rose'. The sorbet brought out even more strawberry and mango flavors in the wine and a slight alcoholic taste as well. The flavor of the wine lingered more with this wine than the Merlot however we thought the strawberry in both the wine and the sorbet paired together well. This was a good pairing but the Merlot was even better.
Finally, the Beaujolais. The sorbet made the wine taste very bland and took away all flavors of fruit in the wine as well. There was more alcohol burn at the end however it didn't linger. Not that good of a pairing.
And that concluded my first wine dinner pairing experience!
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