Dinner - Homemade Italian

So, this weekend, my delightful friend Marin and I, decided to get ourselves back into gear and try another wine dinner! We had a great time doing the French themed dinner at the beginning of the semester, so this time we decided to switch it up with an Italian theme.

I decided to do a baked ziti with tiramisu for dessert, and Marin brought over bacon-wrapped aspargus for the appetizer.

Dessert prep!

It took four whole things of marscarpone cheese!

All the ladyfingers! *drools*

Making the sauce

Pre-baking!

 We paired our bacon-wrapped asparagus appetizer with a bottle of 2014 Apothic Crush that I picked up at Kroger for $10.99. I've been a huge fan of the Apothic red blend ever since my cousin introduced them to me a few years ago, and I had never tried their "Crush" blend. According to the label, it is "a decadent red blend that combines red fruit flavors with notes of caramel and a velvety smooth mouthfeel." Intrigued and frankly starving after having spent hours prepping our meal, Marin and I dove in!

So I realized after dinner (an several glasses of wine) that I had forgotten to take picture of the Apothic bottle. So this was my *artful* (read: inebriated) idea of a photograph of it. Note that half of the picture is of the table... *When Courtney imbibes and thinks she's a photographer*

 Before we dove into the meal we took care to swirl, sniff, and observe before shoving our faces. We picked up on red berries and a hint of spiciness and "bite" in the nose. Tasting it without food, we were surprised at how smooth it was! I think I had assumed that younger wines would automatically be astringent and sharp, but this had a great mouth feel. There was no "bite" or heat of alcohol to it, and we found it to be light, airy, and sweet at the end. I actually managed to detect a slight caramel aftertaste to it, which I am rather proud of since I usually have such a hard time tasting the things that labels/sommeliers describe. Marin and I specifically forbid ourselves to read the descriptions on the back of the bottles beforehand so that we could really try to come up with our impressions ourselves. So, yay us. *pats self on back*

We then munched on some bacon-wrapped asparagus and tried the wine again. We found that it really complemented the bacon! The wine really brought out the smokiness of the bacon, which in turn accentuated the fruitiness of the wine. The salty-sweet combo really worked here. I'd definitely do this pairing again!

Apothic Crush + bacon = LOVE

We then moved onto our main course: the baked ziti. We tried to go full-fledged Italian with this one and so paired the ziti with a bottle of 2013 Da Vinci Chianti found at Kroger for $11.99. 

Da Vinci 2013 Chianti

Pre face-stuffing, we really noticed the alcohol in the nose of this wine. A few swirls later we were able to detect hints of plum too. Tasting without food, we picked up on the fact that it wasn't as smooth as the first wine, and that it had cherry notes. It also had a really biting, peppery finish.

All the cheesy goodness

With the ziti, we saw the hidden sweetness of the wine come out. Like the first wine, there was a good salty-sweet thing going on as the fatty cheese opened up the wine. The cheese cut out a lot of the sharpness we had before and we could pick up on more berry notes. That definitely improved the chianti, but overall we weren't that impressed. It was just a "meh" wine. I wrote in my notes, "Nothing special, doesn't blow our minds". I guess we were let down after the amazing appetizer pairing!

Mar and her ziti!

Wine dinner selfie!

After a very long digestion break, we moved on to the final course: dessert. We paire the tiramisu with a bottle of sweet Colombo Marsala. We chose this for several reasons. First, neither of us had ever had fortified wine and wanted to try it. Second, Marsala is apparently a traditional Italian aperitif/digestif. Third, the bottle we found was actually imported from Italy *ooh spiffy*. And finally, it was on sale. (*help us, we're poor*). 

But anyway, we had slightly high expectations for this.

We were so, so, wrong.

So smelling this before tasting our dessert, we thought it smelled "raisiny", like black currant, and spice. And rubbing alcohol. This smelled so boozy it made me want to gag. Looking at the label we noticed that Marsala has a whopping 18% alcohol content! WHOA. This gave me literally no desire to taste it. But taste it I did, like every good Geography of Wine student should. 

It was simultaneously sickly sweet and spicy, and burned like hell because of the alcohol. We then tried it with the tiramisu, and it was *surprise* HORRIBLE. I wrote a huge "NO" in my notes for this one. The level of the alcohol completely overpowered the subtle cream and espresso notes of the tiramisu. Never again. Ever.

Disgusting bottle of death!

Over all, this was another great wine dinner! Or the finale was entertaining at least. The Apothic Crush was beyond delicious! I'll definitely be picking that up again in the future. The chianti was just mediocre. I won't completely write off chianti from my future though, because I always like to try things twice in case my palate or opinions have changed. Maybe 2013 wasn't a good year for Chianti, or maybe Da Vinci is a mediocre winery. There will have to be more chianti in my future in order to figure that out! Marsala, however, will never pass my lips again. Ever. I should have known since I don't like liquor or boozy things, but hindsight is 20/20 I suppose. This was another great exploration into wine and cuisine; I'll definitely have to but some significant thought into the next dinner in order to choose a great theme that stands up to to this and the previous wine dinner! 

Until next time!

Tasting - Pillastro Primitivo 2013

My final, and favorite tasting of the weekend:

Name: Pillastro 
Variety: Primitivo
Region: Puglia
Country: Italy
Year: 2013
Price: ~$14.00 ? (This is an estimate found at wsjwine.com, my mom paid $69.99 for the box of 15 different wines as part of the Wall Street Journal's Discovery Wine club introductory promotion)

WSJ Wine review: 'In the glass, Pillastro offers "vibrant cherry fruit on the nose with strawberry and loganberry." IWC Judges have described it as "an early drinking, soft supple style." Top critic Malcolm Gluck also talked up a previous vintage as "lush and lovely... not expensive and terrifically drinkable." As you'll taste, Angelo's 2013 lives up to the hype - expert billowing red and black fruit aromas, with luscious, ripe currant, chocolate and vanilla-oak notes on the palate. Sip with meaty pastas.'

My review: I chose this wine out of my mom's box of 15 wines because it's from Puglia, the region where my family comes from! In the glass, I noticed this wine's deep, dark, almost black color. On the nose, I detected notes of apple, what reminded me of sparking grape juice or cider, and notes of strawberry. It seemed very "jammy" to me. When I tasted it without food, I picked up on its initial dryness, but its slightly sweet aftertaste, and perhaps a hint of plum.

I tasted this wine with Comte cheese. With the cheese I really was able to pick up on its smooth mouth feel and the fruit flavors - particularly the strawberry - came through really well!

This was by far my favorite wine of the weekend. The smell was amazing. I could have sat there and smelled it all night. My mom and I made plans to figure out where to buy more immediately after our tasting!

 

Tasting - J. Opi a.k.a. Rodolfo Sadler Malbec 2015

The fourth tasting of the weekend:

Name: J. Opi a.k.a. Rodolfo Sadler 
Variety: Malbec
Region: Mendoza
Country: Argentina
Year: 2015
Price: ~$14.00 ? (This is an estimate found at wsjwine.com, my mom paid $69.99 for the box of 15 different wines as part of the Wall Street Journal's Discovery Wine club introductory promotion)

Winery review: "Grapes for this expressive Malbec were hand-picked from our vineyard in the Maipu region of Mendoza, from vines irrigated with melt water from the Andes. It has an intense deep red colour; the nose and palate convey harmonious ripe blackberry and plum, underpinned by elegant smoke and vanilla notes. This attractive wine is the perfect partner to red meat dishes, spicy sausages and cheese."

My review: So I learned in doing a little wine research in several different wine books my mother has that Malbec is often characterized uniquely by its dark color with a lighter red ring around the rim. So when I poured this glass I particularly paid attention to its color, and it indeed had a dark, almost black color with a burgundy/red rim! So cool! I thought this had a very light, approachable smell. I couldn't detect any alcohol on the nose, something I appreciated since I hate the smell of booze. It also had floral, fruity notes of dark berries. When I tasted it alone, I found it too have a light mouth feel with jammy tones and a hint of spice. It also had a sweet undertone which I thought could maybe be vanilla. It also had a residual sweetness which was pleasing.

I tasted this at dinner with steak. I thought that this wine mellowed the saltiness of the steak while also revealing its fruitiness! It was great! Would definitely have this again!

Tasting - Aluado Alicante Bouschet 2014

My third tasting of weekend:

Name: Aluado Alicante Bouschet
Variety: Alicante Bouschet
Region: Lisboa IGT
Country: Portugal
Year: 2014
Price: ~$15.00 ? (This is an estimate found at wsjwine.com, my mom paid $69.99 for the box of 15 different wines as part of the Wall Street Journal's Discovery Wine club introductory promotion)

Wine Enthusiast review: "With the typical dark color of this red grape, this is a dense and firm wine. It has rich plum and berry flavors that are dark as well as juicy. Tannins lace the background to already delicious wine, finishing with refreshing acidity. 90 Points."

My review: So I picked this bottle out of my mother's box of 15 wines purely because its label is art. Also I love how poetic the name of this wine is! Aluado means "moonstruck," or "crazy," which is apparently what the friends of Jose Neiva called him when he decided to bottle his Alicante Bouschet grapes solo, or not in a blend. How poetic! But anyway, this had a deep red, burgundy color to it, with a complicated nose! It was hard for me to pick out individual aromas, but I found notes of berries and some kind of spicy, peppery hint. This was a bold wine! I noticed fruity, berrylike flavors with a hint of spice, like cinnamon or pepper in the aftertaste. It had a smooth mouth feel as well. I would definitely try this one again!

This was tasted without food.

Tasting - Raymond "The Inaugural" Cabernet Sauvignon 2014

This was the second wine I tried while at home:

Name: Raymond "The Inaugural"

Variety: Cabernet Sauvignon
Region: Central Coast, California
Country: USA
Year: 2014
Price: ~$13.00 ? (This is an estimate found at vivino.com, my mom paid $69.99 for the box of 15 different wines as part of the Wall Street Journal's Discovery Wine club introductory promotion)

Winery review: "The Inaugural Cabernet Sauvignon is a red fruit based Cabernet, with flavors of cherry, rhubarb, and red plum with touches of spicy white pepper on the finish. Beautifully balanced with integrated tannins and a smooth texture."

My review: I liked this wine. I first noticed its nice, dark burgundy color in the glass. It had notes of red fruits (cherry, plum maybe?/does plum count as a red fruit?) and (fortunately) only a slight hint of black currant. (I really hate black currant, it turns out). I noticed it had a smooth mouth feel and earthy, almost dirtlike undertones in the taste. It also had a kick of spice at the end, which I surprisingly found pleasing. This was a bold, flavorful wine. Not bad.

This was tasted without food.

Tasting - Les Jamelles Syrah 2011

So I went home last weekend to visit my family and found that my mother, jealous of my wine explorations in Geography of Wine, had 1) signed up for Professor Boyer's Udemy class, 2) bought the same textbooks we use for Geography of Wine, and 3) had subscribed to the Wall Street Journal's "Discovery Wine Club", and so therefore had a box of 15 different wines waiting in our basement. Fortunately I was home for a couple days so we definitely got to explore the collection. Here's the first one I tried:

Name: Les Jamelles
Variety: Syrah 
Region: Pays d'Oc
Country: France
Year: 2011
Price: ~$10.00 ? (This is an estimate found at wine-searcher.com, my mom paid $69.99 for the box of 15 different wines as part of the Discovery Wine Club introductory promotion)

Winery review: "'Les Jamelles'" Syrah is a deep ruby red, with flavors of ripe raspberries and blackberries joined by cloves, cinnamon, and cedar."

My review: I definitely noticed the deep red color on this wine. I thought it had a raisin-y (which I later found out from my mother was black currant) smell on the nose with a big hit of astringency. I first tasted it alone and was surprised that it was sweet! I noticed hints of honey and black currant. I was really turned off by it initially, and I slowly got used to its oddness as I kept drinking.

I tasted this also with Comté cheese, which drastically cut the sharpness of it. The strong taste of the Comté also helped reduce the horrible raisin/black currant taste that I didn't appreciate so much.

Overall, I gave this one a big NOPE.

Tasting - Peter Mertes Platinum Riesling

Last entry for my first wine tasting experience!

Name: Peter Mertes Platinum
Variety: Riesling
Region: Bernkastel-Kues, Bernkastel-Wittlich
Country: Germany
Year: 2014
Price: $18.00 (Sale: $9.95)

Winery review: "Light bodied slightly sweet white wine; medium pale slightly greenish yellow. Inviting fresh white peach aroma and flavors. Easy to drink and not complicated, but what's there is very pleasant, and flavors develop in the glass."

My review: This was definitely mine, and everyone else at the tasting's favorite. The Vintage Cellar people had a hard time keeping enough out on the displays for people to buy! I noticed this one was a light yellow color and had sweet notes in the nose, which I thought was similar to sweet apple. I noticed citrusy notes on the palate (I've found that I tend to think all white wines have citrus notes... I should try more white wines!). I was also proud of myself that I detected some woody resinous tones of vanilla! This one was delightfully refreshing after those previous red wine disasters - it was definitely easy to to drink. I will for sure drink this again! I bought myself a bottle after I finished!

I tasted this without food.

Overall, this was a great first wine tasting experience. I felt a little rushed since the Vintage Cellar employees were trying to get a quick turnaround to make sure everyone who came to taste wine could, so I'm not sure I got to experience the wine like I should have. It was great to get to see peoples' reactions to each wine after when I was pouring! Hopefully I'll be able to do another tasting again soon!

Tasting - Crane Lake Petite Sirah

Wine tasting entry numero quattro!

Name: Crane Lake
Variety: Petite Sirah
Region: Lodi, California (Central Valley, California)
Country: USA
Year: 2013
Price: $5.95 (This might be the sale price since that seems very very cheap for an American wine and there was no sale price listed on the sheet)

Vintage Cellar review: "This wine is ruby-purple colored; notes of blackberry, plums and spice predominate the nose and falvors. The tannins give a soft, full mouth feel.

My review: One day I promise myself that I'll be able to detect tannins/mouth feel! One day! Every time I read a description that talks about mouth feel and tannins I just don't. get. it. Ugh.

But anyway... Me no likey this wine. Yick. I didn't get a chance to read what the alcohol content was on this one, but I wrote upon initial sniff, "smells like rubbing alcohol". I'm not a big liquor person, so I can't stand when when smells/tastes super boozy. It just reminds me of past alcohol-induced endeavors. And regret. All the regret. I also detected balsamic vinegar in this one and earthy, spicy, under notes. I also wrote that it reminded me a bit of cherry cough syrup - so I guess that was be picking up on syrupy cherry notes. Basically this was horrible. Would not do again. And judging by the other people I watched tasting it while pouring wine, no one else will either.

This was tasted without food.

Tasting - El Cortijillo Tempranillo

Thursday's wine tasting sample numero trois!

Name: El Cortijillo
Variety: Tempranillo   (Side note: this + the winery name = quite a mouthful! Trying to say this while pouring it out to people was harder than it looked!)
Region: La Mancha
Country: Spain
Year: 2014
Price: $9.00 (Sale: $5.95)

Vintage Cellar review: Bright purple. High-pitched red berry and floral scents display good clarity and a hint of cracked pepper. Shows a touch of jamminess to its pliant black raspberry and cherry compote flavors, with a spicy quality adding vibrancy. Finishes with good focus and no obvious tannins, leaving a sweet berry note behind.

My review: I'm sorry, but when I read that description when I was behind the table pouring wine, I actually rolled my eyes. "Finishes with good focus"? "A touch of jamminess?" *barf*. But anyway, this was my first Spanish wine ever! Yay! I didn't pick up on the "cracked pepper" in this one, but I definitely could detect red berries, perhaps cherries (?), in the nose. This one was delightfully warm going down and only had a slightly burning finish. I picked up on caramel and buttery notes which I was surprised by and really liked! This was a hit. I'd definitely drink this again.

This was tasted without food.

Tasting - Les Clos Francs Vouvray Chenin Blanc

This was the second wine I tasted at Vintage Cellar this past Thursday!

Name: Les Clos Francs Vouvray
Variety: Chenin Blanc
Region: Vouvray (Loire Valley)
Country: France
Year: 2013
Price: $21.00 (Sale: $7.95)

Vintage Cellar review:  The cool climate in the Vouvray appellation area insures good acidity, which is balanced by the distinctly fruity character of the Chenin Blanc and the mineral qualities imparted by the soil. Thanks to these natural elements, this Vouvray combines elegance and vigor with honey dipped pears and an inherent freshness.

My review: This wine had a nice light gold color like the Chardonnay before it, but this time I detected red berries or dried fruit in the nose, like cranberry (does cranberry qualify as a "berry" or a "fruit"?). I thought it was crisp and light on initial taste, but mid-palate to finish I found that it turned tart and even burned a bit. It only had 12.5 or 13.5% alcohol, but to me it tasted like it had a lot more! I literally wrote "ew" in my notes. Sorry France, but you have actually produced a wine I don't like! Would definitely not drink or buy this again!

This was tasted without food!

Tasting - La Lejania Chardonnay

I finally got myself together and was able to do a wine tasting this week! It was my first real wine tasting and I got to volunteer as a wine pour-er after! So much fun!

There were five wines available this week: two reds and three whites. I was pleased to see that they were from all over the world, as so far I've restricted myself to French, Italian, and California wines only.

So here's my first entry from Thursday's wine tasting at Vintage Cellar:

Name: La Lejania Chardonnay
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Central Valley, Chile
Country: Chile
Year: 2015
Price: $10.00 (Sale: $6.95)

Vintage Cellar review: "A refined and suave style, with a rich array of white fruit and cream flavors, featuring a plush texture. Ripe citrus and pear notes fill the smooth finish."

My review: Can I just say that I'm impressed by the people who write wine reviews? A "plush texture"? Ok... But anyway, I noticed first that this wine had a nice pale gold color. In the nose I detected tree fruit scents like apple, and I embarrassingly wrote down "scents of grape"... Well, duh. (Major props to Vintage Cellar for having copies of that handy-dandy aroma wheel, which helped my incapable self to put what I was tasting/smelling into words!) I found this wine to be acidic on initial taste with citrus notes that came through in the mid-palate. It had a pleasingly smooth finish. I liked this wine, but it wasn't anything special to me. Would drink again, but probably wouldn't buy.

This was tasted without food!

Snozilla Wine Dinner!

So, I took full advantage of being cooped up in my apartment through the Snowpocalyse or "Snowzilla 2016" this past weekend by having my first wine dinner!

I got this fabulous Soups, Stews & Chilis book done by Cook's Illustrated, a favorite cooking magazine of mine and my mother's, for Christmas, so I decided to go all in and make boeuf bourguignon, a traditional French beef stew. I got particularly excited because the recipe called for an ENTIRE bottle of red wine and more than three hours in the oven, so I knew it would have to be delicious!

The cheap pinot I bought to put in the stew. It fell out of the bag in the parking lot and miraculously didn't break!

Cooking prep!

Cooking the boeuf.

An hour and a half in.

My new favorite cookbook!

I invited my friend Marin, who is also taking Geography of Wine, over to join me!

We started our appetizer with honeycrisp apples, Brie, parmesan, and pepperoni, pared with a Nobilo 2014 Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. I picked this wine up for $11.99 at Food Lion, and I chose it because I liked the label and thought maybe a sweet wine would be a good aperitif.

The wine!

Marin and I tried to follow what we learned from the first week of videos, so we first swirled our wines artfully in the glass and sniffed and tasted them alone before sampling with food. We thought we picked up on fruitiness with a bitter or tart edge in the nose, and detected citrus notes and a fresh after-taste on the palate.

Me - post swirl

Marin sampling the cabernet sauvignon!

We LOVED the wine with the cheese. We found that the parmesan cut some of the sweetness and took away the bite/sting of the alcohol (like we learned in the book, yay!). And the Brie was just delicious with it. Brie is also very delicious alone, as I know very well, but it was superb with the sauvignon blanc.

Our appetizer presentation

However, it was awful, and I mean AWFUL, with the pepperoni. It might have been partly because the pepperoni I bought was a dried, spicy variety found at Gucci Kroger, but in any case it was horrible. We found that spicy and sweet do not go together well. Or at least these two didn't.

Next was the main dish. 

I chose a 2014 Pinot Noir by Hedgeline Vineyards to go with the beef stew. We had a harder time picking out notes with this one. We swirled our glasses and sniffed, and all we smelled was... alcohol. Rather disappointing after the fruity sauvignon blanc! On initial taste, we definitely noted a lightness to the wine. I think I've always thought of red wines as heavy wines, but this one was nice and light with an hint of oak. This went perfectly with the boeuf bourguignon! That might be partly because it already has 750 ml of pinot noir already in it, but the beef really brought out the fruity notes of the wine.

The pinot!

Boeuf bourguignon and pinot noir!

While the pinot was delicious with the stew, I wrote in my notes that it was: a) "dry" and that b) "I don't think I could drink a pinot on its own". I'll be interested to sample another brand or year of pinot noir in the future to see if that statement still holds true. Maybe this wasn't a good brand. Or maybe I just don't like Pinot Noir. We'll have to see!

A glass and a half in - enjoying the meal!

Marin and the meal!

We finished up our meal with dessert.

I served fudgy, chocolate brownies with vanilla ice cream paired with a 2013 Ravenswood Red Zinfandel from California bought at Food Lion for $11.99. I had heard that chocolate pairs wonderfully with chocolate, so I thought I'd give it a try.

The Red Zin!

Once again, we though the wine smelled... boozy. Before tasting it with the chocolate, we detected a slight fruitiness (I thought it was maybe some notes of pear, though the label says"spicy ripe raspberry, cherry and boysenberry") and the same lightness as the pinot. So I guess my assumption that red wines are "heavy" can go out the window!

Brownies and wine!

I was disappointed with this pairing. I didn't think it meshed well at all with the chocolate. The bitter edge or dryness of the wine didn't go well with the sweetness of the chocolate for me, though I thought that it tasted better on its own after a couple of sips. The brownies were good, though!

So to sum it all up:

Our wine dinner was a success! It was definitely a good way to spend a snowy weekend locked in my apartment! I would definitely pick the sauvignon blanc again, and I liked the red zinfandel by itself, without food. I'd also like to try a pinot noir again on its own to see if I can actually drink it!

Hopefully I'll be able to do a wine tasting or another wine dinner soon!

Introduction

I know diddly squat about wine.

Well, that's an exaggeration actually. I know a few things about wine.

I spent my junior year studying abroad in France, the land of wine and cheese, which is a rather embarassing place to know nothing about wine. 

I know, or rather figured out quickly, that in France they categorize wine by the region in which it is made rather than by the type of grape, like we do here. I remember feeling like the comfortable rug of blind decision was yanked out from under me the first time I tried to order wine in France; unable to just say "I'll have the house red," or "I'll have a glass of merlot," like I had heard my mother say at restaurants before, I was stumped by the côte du Rhône's, Chateau d'Yquem's, and the Saint-Émilion's I saw on the menus instead of our standard merlot, pinot noir, pinot gris, etc. 

What's worse, is that my boyfriend is French. It seems like it is ingrained in his esprit what wines are good and bad, and which wines you drink with this, that, and the other thing. It was he who informed me (countless times) that the wine we were consuming was an apéritif and not just a table wine.

 Fortunately, spending my twenty-first year in France allowed me to dabble in wine, so I slowly determined what I liked and what I didn't like. Initially I thought I didn't like red wine, thinking it was all dry, so I stuck mostly to whites and the occasional rosé. But as I went along I accidentally stumbled into the reds, and now I seem to like everything!

Despite my forays into French wine, I'm still that person who goes into Giant or Kroger and picks the bottle with the prettiest bottle or label. Or I buy whatever is on sale and hope for the best. I still don't know precisely what I like and don't like (since I haven't really ever tasted anything I didn't like).

My personal goal and reason behind taking this class is to learn what I like and why I like it. I want to be more informed when I make my purchasing decisions. I want to be able to actually order a glass a wine at a restaurant without blindly pointing to a spot on the menu!

So hopefully, with the help of this blog, my highly entertaining and informative textbooks, and my plucky wine curiosity, I'll be able to achieve these goals!

Bring on the wine!