Wine Dinner 1

February 16, 2022

Wine:

1. Sauvignon Blanc - Barefoot

This wine advertises as very dry, but I disagree. The initial smell was that of pear and a bit of citrus, and the taste is similar to that of Chardonnay - slightly buttery and fruity, acidic, but the carbonation overpowers a lot of the taste.

2. Concord - Mogen David

Thick, viscous, very berry. Both the smell and the taste are overwhelmingly berry, with blackberry appearing to be the most prominent. This is an extremely sweet wine, and I suspect it will not fit with the meal.

3. Malbec - Barefoot

This wine is acidic, and dry. I initially thought that it was also tannic, but I feel like the dry acidity gives that impression more than it actually is. Yes, it is plenty tannic, but I think it is less than it seems. This wine did not seem to have any smell except for slight berry, but I'm starting to think that I'm imagining it because of the color.

The 3 wines used for the dinner.

Dinner:

The dinner is composed of pork chops seasoned with salt, pepper, and honey balsamic glaze, pasta with fresh tomatoes, and a house salad with some buffalo ranch dressing.

1. The Sauvignon Blanc provided a great vessel to uncovering the spices of the food and even flavors of the pasta. Because this wine is dry, it made the spicy and savory flavors come to light. Out of the 3, this is the best combination because it is dry and not too flavorful, and it being a white wine, considering this is a semi-light meal, makes it the ideal companion for tonight.

2. As I anticipated, this wine did not pair well with the meal. This is because it is very sweet, and the meal is spicy and savory. It would be possible to make a sweet and spicy blend that works, but the Concord is so overwhelming in that regard that it covers all flavor of the food. The only time it kind of worked was with the pork, which was the only thing that was directly spiced in the meal.

3. This wine was interesting because it gave a different impression with every bite of the food, and it depended one what was in that bite. Some of the bites appeared to be completely out of sync with the wine, while others worked very well. The ones that worked well were with the pasta, which is a heavier food. The salad was the worst, as expected, and the pork was somewhere in between. This is the kind of wine that should be paired with very heavy meals, which was not the case this time.