Dinner 1

Dinner and Wine

Appetizer

For the appetizer we had some delicious bread and cheese. The bread was a french baguette while the two cheeses were manchego and Kentucky bourbon bellavitano.

The wine paired with this cheese was the 2012 Michel Gassier "Cercius" Vieilles Vignes Côtes du Rhone Rouge. I enjoyed trying out the difference of wine before and after the bread and cheese. There's something completely different to wine with a food pairing. In this case the smokey flavors of the cheese were brought out while the acidity of the wine was diminished. Secondly, the finish of the wine lasted much longer. Though the Cercius had a nice fruity full body first appearance to it the longer finish wasn't loved. a 14.5% alcohol content in this was easily noticeable without the cheese, and almost potable with. I didn't love this wine but it was fun seeing how the flavors of food and wine worked well together.

 

Main Course

For the dinner we had baked chicken seasoned with mint, rosemary, and a splash of wine from the previous nights dinner. The chicken went well with mashed sweet potatoes and baked Brussels sprouts.

Chickens

And Their Friends

Paired with the main course we tried another red wine, this time the 2013 Maipe reserve Bonarda.

Maipe

I enjoyed this wine a bit more. Mostly because of the lower alcohol content, but also because of the subtle flavors that emerged out of everything. The wine had a smaller body, something that worked well with the various flavors in the main course. This wine has a delicious finish, especially after a bite of chicken and sprouts. Fortunately the bottle was shared by the entire table, otherwise I think I'd have it all to myself.

Dessert

Dessert came next, a delicious raspberry chocolate truffle paired with a not so delicious wine. The truffles had an amazing taste of raspberry in them with a dark but creamy chocolate medium. The wine also had some chocolate flavors in it but the sweetness and strong off cherry taste and smell in the wine did not go well with the chocolate. I don't like sangria's, and this reminded me of a bad sangria.

Till next time, happy cooking and drinking!