Wine Dinner (homemade) - 2/23

A group of friends and I decided to have our first Geography of Wine dinner on Thursday night, 2/23. There were seven of us, total: myself, my roommates, Abby and Sydney, and our friends, Bryan, Austin, Rebecca, and Patrick.

My roommate Sydney and I picked out the first wine: a 2015 white blend of Chenin Blanc and Viognier by Pine Ridge from California for $10.99. This wine by itself had a light body, and smelled like green apples. It seemed almost bubbly when we first poured it. It was slightly acidic, but still smooth. Patrick described the taste as that of "fresh linen."

Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc + Viognier

This freshness of the wine paired well with the freshness of our first course, which Sydney made: a spinach/mixed greens salad with black olives, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and "citrusy" Greek dressing. This acidity of the dressing balanced out the acidity of the wine, and the saltiness of the feta paired well with the slight sweetness. The wine did not seem bubbly when we drank it with the salad. This was my favorite pairing of the night.

Spinach/mixed greens salad with black olives, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, and Greek dressing

Sydney and Rebecca enjoying the first course

Patrick brought the wine for our second course, which was a 2016 The Little Sheep of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand for $9.50.  It had a slight ammonia/cat urine smell to it. I thought it tasted grassy, had a slight taste of cat urine, and was acidic.

2016 Sauvignon Blanc

Our second course was Montreal chicken made by Abby (chicken cooked with a blend of spices - garlic, salt, onion, black pepper, and paprika), and red potatoes cooked in the oven with olive oil and Italian seasonings by Bryan.  The Vintage Cellar recommended Sauvignon Blanc for this course since the most prevalent flavor was the Montreal seasoning. With the food, the cat urine flavor was less prevalent, and it was smoother and less acidic. It definitely tasted better with the chicken, and seemed more acidic when we drank it with just the potatoes.  The pairing was good, but we all liked the first better.

Montreal chicken and red potatoes

Myself and Patrick taking notes on our phone about the pairing

I brought the wine for dessert: 2014 Chateau St. Jean Merlot from California for $10.50. I wasn't a big fan of this wine by itself. It smelled a little like cherries, and had a slightly tannic, oaky taste. Some other descriptors from the group were mountain river and wet leaves.

2014 Merlot

Rebecca made brownies to go with the Merlot, and the pairing worked pretty well together. The chocolate of the brownies paired well with the oakiness from the Merlot. It still tasted sort of "woody" but the brownies cut some of the tannic flavor.

Brownies and Merlot