Easter Wine Dinner

Yes, I look exactly like my dad. Aren't we cute?

Every year I've been at college, I've made sure that I have time to go home for Easter weekend. It's a relaxing time for me, and I get to spend time with my parents and their new church in Port Royal, which holds about 30 people (a good 970 fewer people than my last church, but I like it).

When I told my parents that I was coming home and that I wanted to do a wine dinner with them, they were QUITE excited! Mom & I began emailing back and forth about different entrees, and Dad headed to the store for a few whites, and downstairs to the basement to pick a red.

Since we had such filling dishes, we started the experiment one evening and had to finish it at lunch the next day, so you'll see some outfit changes. But as Dad said

"Who would complain about having to continue a wine experiment? I'll get the glasses!"

So here are the dishes we had. Mom said to use the denim place mats because the "contrast looks so nice!" Love my parents for enjoying my homework! We're fish people, so this was kind of a "surf and grape" weekend:

Salmon with asparagus salad

For this salad, we also made a dressing that was mayonnaise with fresh dill and a little soy sauce. I could have eaten that dressing with a spoon. 

I'll go more into this in the wine notes, but the rich salmon did some crazy stuff to the white wines- which was interesting because I always thought rich food was supposed to go with reds. 

Spiced shrimp with snap pea salad

This shrimp was mildly spiced with Old Bay spice, and the snap peas are just fresh (the way God intended them- you heathens that cook these things. Ew). My parents added balsamic dressing to it, but I liked the way the shrimp stood out on its own, and I loooove the sweetness of the snap peas. 

Which was nasty with the red and the chardonnay. More on that later. 

Wild Haddock with rice and mushrooms

I had never tried wild haddock before, but if it comes out of the water- I will try it. It was a meaty fish, and with rice and mushrooms to round out our meal it was really filling. 

This dish was complimenting, but it left the wine alone for the most part.

Here you can see the dressing, and that Dad loved the shrimp

Before chow-down, from my angle.
Look at all those wine glasses!
Party with the parents :) 

About The Wines:

Cake in a bottle? Maybe not...

My mother actually found this one- she said she simply couldn't leave it at the store: "It jumped right into my cart!"

It's called Angel Food from Cupcake Vineyards. It's a 2012 from California, a mixed white variety. The producer states that it should have light green apple flavors and vanilla that combine to give the taste of actual angel food cake! 

It did not have the super-sweet quality one would expect. In fact, the vanilla flavor really hid until combined with the spicy shrimp. The moment it was mixed with the shrimp spice it was like BAM it finally tasted like the cake! Before this the acid of tree fruit was almost over whelming on the nose and the tongue- to the point my red-wine-loving father didn't almost refused to include it in the tastings!

Move aside, Vanna White.

The second wine is a Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay from 2012. If you've been watching my blog closely, you'd notice that we tasted the Riesling from this same company a few weeks back. 

But this is their Chardonnay- my mother is showing it off with a bite of shrimp, which it tasted weird with. This wine, full of the apple and some bright spice (my dad thought nutmeg, but I was leaning more to a Indian spice feeling) tasted best with the Haddock fish dish- because, as I said above, the haddock/mushroom/rice really allowed the wine to be what it was by itself. The spicy shrimp overwhelmed the spice of the wine, and the sweet of the peas made the wine sour. It did taste really nice with the rich salmon though- the meaty fish going up against the powerful citrus aromatics going on with this Chardonnay. 

As you can see in this picture, all of Dad's is gone.
He liked it a quite a bit!

The third wine we had was a Chateau Morrisette Cabernet Franc, 2013. It was mostly Cabernet Franc, but mixed also with Cab Sauv and Petit Verdot with a touch of Merlot.

It was said to have a lot of raspberry and strawberry with red currants. There was a lot of raspberry, which just TERRIBLE with the spice of the shrimp! I thought reds were supposed to go with spicy things, but I guess not. It also didn't go very well with the salmon, as it was all too rich together.

It went with the sweet snap peas again, but it was best with the haddock and rice- since it was allowed again to stand on its own with all its complexities.


This was a lot of fun to experiment with all these wines and dishes, especially since Mom and Dad were so into it and helping me out. We played around with the way wine tasted and changed depending on what foods and spices went with it. Even experienced wine drinkers like my parents learned a few things about the way the food could change the wine flavors. It was a good Easter all around!

Easter Afternoon, A Tasting

A young girl withOUT wine.

So there we were. Easter lunch, not sure how to spend the sunny afternoon.

The answer? A wine tasting, obviously. 

I've already done a few winery tours, so we went more for a tasting, especially since it was free for Easter! (We bought a few bottles since they were so nice about this) So we went to a beautiful place called the Hague. It was one of the first wineries I went to when I was old enough, and I remembered it being a wonderful experience with delicious wines and fantastic atmosphere. It just shows that some things change, and others don't. 

Isn't it in a pretty place??

This was the nice guy leading out tasting:

But I think he was a little sleepy from the Easter ham, because although he was full of info, he wasn't the most exciting person in the whole world. 

Name: Hague Chardonel 

Year: 2011

Variety: Chardonnay & Petit Manseng

Region: Northern Virginia

Country: United States

Price: 14.95

What They Say: "A crisp, floral white of a Chardonel and Petit Manseng. Pairs wonderfully with shellfish and seafood."

What I Say: We got to taste two years of their Chardonel, and he gave us the older one because it was drier. And WAS it dry! But it was also very clean, extremely crisp. It had a lot of acid in it, a little pear and pecan in it too (the nutty flavor confused me). A ton of green melon was on the back, and some oak too. I wasn't a huge fan of this, but Mom loved it. It was just too acid for me and my dad. 

Name: Hague Chardonel 

Year: 2010

Variety: Chardonnay & Muscat

Region: Northern Virginia

Country: United States

Price: 14.95

What They Say: "Silver Medal winner at the 2011 Governor's Cup. Judge's notes included 'medium body, silky, layered- the Muscat shows through- ready to drink and will improve.'"

What I Say: It was a strange but pretty shade of yellow green. There was a lot of rose (look! I'm getting better at floral notes!) on the nose of this, something I wasn't prepared for. There seemed to be a little bubble on the tongue, with a lot of pear. This was sweeter than the 2011, which we got to taste, but not nearly as sweet as I remember from almost a year prior. Mom really liked it- she enjoys a Chardonel no matter what year it is. 

 

Name: Hague Cabernet Franc

Year: 2010

Variety: Cabernet Franc (French & Italian clones)

Region: Northern Virginia

Country: United States

Price: 17.95

What They Say: "A blend of both of our clones of Cab Franc that yields, in a judge's notes, 'black plum and red cranberry fruit with chewy tannins to help the wine age.' Silver Medal at 2013 Governor's Cup competition

What I Say: The cranberry was upfront on the nose, but there wasn't much in the mouth. The taste was smooth, and I liked the way it felt in my mouth, I liked it more than I usually do a Cab Franc. There was SO much plum going on, and through it backed with black cherry- a little bit of the spice that I've noticed comes with cherry. Unusual for my father, he didn't like it too much. Usual for my mom, she didn't like it either. 

Name: Meritage Reserve

Year: 2010

Variety: Merlot, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot mix

Region: Northern Virginia

Country: United States

Price: 28.95

What They Say: "A classic Bordeaux blend of estate grown Merlot, Cab Franc, and Petit Verdot aged in new French oak for 15 months. Excellent concentration and color resulting from 2010's drought like growing season. Will age well for years to come. 

What I Say: Mom loves anything that has the words "Petit Verdot" in it- the closer a wine is to biting into a saddle bag, that happier she is. Dad's just happy he's got a dark red going on. Myself, I found dark fruit and saddle on the nose- which combines for a great smell! The taste was full of more leather, but lighter. There was also a taste of dried fruit- black cherry I think. I liked it, but it was so full that I couldn't possibly have more than one glass. 

Name: Cynthia Dessert

Year: 2011

Variety: Muscat & Chardonel blend

Region: Northern Virginia

Country: United States

Price: 23.95

What They Say: "A blend of Muscat (frozen at -10 degrees for 4 months) pressed as an ice wine and blended with dry Chardonel, aromatic with a clean finish."

What I Say: I think we all knew that I was going to love this- it's a dessert wine. It poured like syrup in the the glasses. Our taster told us they got 60 gal out of a ton of grapes- apparently it normally makes more but they wanted it that sweet and thick. I thought it smelled of peach blossom. Its taste was so yummy, with a bit of honeyed melon. There was also some taste of spice cake. But mostly there was a dry back that I didn't expect of a dessert wine, but I loved it.

 

All in all, it was a good time and we enjoyed some good wines! I enjoyed getting to hang out with my parents and going adventuring to different wineries :) We always have a good time even if we're not huge fans of the wines- it's always fun and bonding-like. 

Thirsty Thursday...

...as the youngins call it.

Did a lovely little wine tasting at the Vintage Cellar today. No fun story to go along with it, except that it's been the kind of day where I did need a few sips of wine.

Here are the day's discoveries:

Name: Avery Quinn
Variety: Chardonnay
Region: Napa Valley, California
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $6.95
What They Say: "The 2011 vintage marks a return to form for this great value Chardonnay. The aromas feature creamy, mellow, golden apple, pineapple, fresh better and a touch of vanilla. Then rich, ripe, flavors of yellow pear, pineapple, fresh apple, cream and buttered toast swell up and fill your mouth before juicy, apply caramel inflected finish makes your mouth water (and smile!)."

What I Say: I am not a chardonnay gal- it's just not my style with all the butter and oak it normally carries. But I rather liked this one! The smell was full of pear and apple, a little of the pineapple they're talking about. The taste was creamy yet still a little light. It was less dry than I expected- which is great. The toast was there in the finish but the butter seemed absent to me. The pear came back at the end as well, which I liked. I would totally drink this bottle, which my mother will tell you I would NEVER say about her favorite- the Chardonnay.

Name: Atlas Cumbres
Variety: Torrontes
Region: Lagarde
Country: Argentina
Year: 2010
Price: $5.95
What They Say: "Yellow colour with greenish nuances. Very intense of fresh grapes, flower perfume and mature peaches. Fresh in the mouth. Light and easy to drink. Ideal with seafood, Thai and Chinese food."

What I Say: The aroma was certainly sweet and peachy! I wanted to sit there and sniff. I wouldn't drink it again though, because the taste was as if someone sprayed peach perfume in my mouth- dry and overbearing, sharp. It tasted yellow, if that's possible, like the awkward color was just sitting in my mouth. Pretty label, but I won't be trying again.

Name: El Sierro
Variety: Tempranillo/Cab
Region: Valeincia 
Country: Spain
Year: 2012
Price: $7.95
What They Say: "Dark ruby in color with rich aromas of red fruit and light spices. It is a real knock-out with delicious flavors of dark cherries, blackberries and vanilla all perfectly integrated. The Tempranillo provides wonderful spice and fruit, while the Cabernet Sauvignon gives structure and depth with the beautiful use of oak."

What I Say: This wine is a beautiful color, I'll give them that. It also smelled amazing, like blueberries that had been soaked in vanilla forever. The taste was pretty exciting too. The cherry was up at the front, while the vanilla and blue hung out afterward, which was subtle and soft that I really enjoyed. There is a kick at the end, a sharpness that was not so great. I guess the answer would be to just keep chugging it so that kick would never come! 

Name: Omo Ze Bel
Variety: Merlot
Region: Sicily 
Country: Italy
Year: 2012
Price: $6.95
"This bright, soft Merlot comes from a hilly vineyard on the Alcesti family estate in beautiful Sicily. It has hints of red cherries and freshly cut hay. Exceptional value."
What I Say: I wasn't big on this one, either. I would like a candle of it or something though- because the smell was amazing. It was full of fried cherry and spice, which was just lovely. The taste, however, was a lot of hay and more dried cherry. It was super dry, which I could not get over. It was not that complex or excited, basically whether you like your cherries dried out or not.

Name: Toso
Variety: Moscato
Region: Piemonte
Country: Italy
Year: 2009
Price: $9.95
What They Say: "This Moscato is reminiscent of honeysuckle and rose petal. The wuality is equivalent to a top level Asti Spumante DOCG. Sweet sparkling wine obtained from a careful selection of the Moscato grapes. It has a pale straw yellow color with fine foam and bubbles. Tropical fruit flavors, refreshing. Excellent to match desserts, fruit, and dried pastries."
What I Say: I loved this, but sparkling Moscatos rarely disappoint me. The smell was just covered in honey, as if I'd stuck my nose directly into a honey jar. The following taste was really yummy! I could taste some petal, floral flavors but I could not directly note it as rose (I suppose I'm not that sensitive yet). The bubbles cut through a lot of the sweetness, making it something I think I could have had several glasses of and not worried too much about the following morning. Loved this, would drink again!

I guess that's all, folks!

Have a great weekend :) 



 

Another Week of Cheers!

Red lipstick and blackberry wine. Classy.

Cheers everyone! It's been a hard week, so thank goodness from some lazy weekends with some lovely girls and yummy labels.

Julia modeling the good stuff

         Perhaps the best mistake I've made so far this semester was to introduce my friends to the idea of wine exploration. Since a few wine-tastings earlier in the Spring semester, (aka still so so winter) several of my friends have been on the look-out to test with me wines they hadn't heard of before or wines they had, but simply didn't know enough about. We've made a few nice discoveries, such as it turns out we don't hate merlots, we're just picky. It's been pretty exciting, and this week was no exception. So, let's get started.

Name: Flickerberry Dew

Variety: Blackberry Fruit Wine

Region: Kinzua Country

Country: United States

Year: 2013

Price: $17.95

What They Say:  "Blackberry & Red Raspberry blend that will knock your socks off! A taste of summer in a bottle. Serve chilled"

What I Say: I was very suspicious of trying a raspberry wine, even though it is my favorite fruit. I had not heard good things about fruit-wines, what with all the Boon's Farm jokes going around. However, this wine was delicious. It of course smelled and tasted like raspberries, but the black fruit was way more powerful than the red on both the nose and the tongue. There was also a much heavier feeling in the mouth than with a lot of grape wines. It was also way less sweet than I expected it to be. It allowed the raw fruit flavor to come forth, with a little edge of green-ness, almost minty. There was just the smell of fresh green leaves on the nose that I couldn't quite place. I would have this wine again, but I don't think I'd ever have it with food since the flavor is so unique.

Name: Kim Crawford Marlborough

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: Marlborough’s Wairau Valley

Country: United States

Year: 2008

Price: $15.99

What They Say:  "The aromas exhibit intense tropical fruit and fresh cut grass notes while the palate bursts with passionfriut, citrus and ripe stonefruit flavors. A exuberant and expressive wine that pairs brilliantly with fresh seafood, goat cheese salad or on its own."

What I Say: There was certainly grass in this. The nose was full of grass as well as a lot of citrus, though I would have gone to tangerine rather than passionfruit as they suggest. The taste had a lot of mineral flavor, but I'm learning that I like that. Again there was grass and citrus, but it was softer this time. It seemed like there was a lot of acid but it wasn't more than we could handle! I wouldn't go out of my way for this wine, but it's drinkable.  

Name: Snap Dragon

Variety: Riesling

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2011

Price: $8.99

What They Say: "Snap Dragon Riesling is a crisp off-dry wine with apple blossom aromas, pear and peach flavors, and a lingering finish. A perfect wine to drink by itself or pair with seafood dishes or spicy Asian food."

What I Say: This wine was super yummy. The pear was right upfront on the nose, with a little bit of tangerine back note. On the tongue was more pear, and this is where the peach came forward as well, staying in the mouth long after the sip was gone- as if one had actually just bitten into a sticky peach. It was so light, with a little bit of petulance, which I always love. This wine was just a total joy and wonderful to share with a friend into the evening. Would drink again!

Home-made ice buckets are the best ice bucket

Well, that's all for this week, folks! Keep popping corks and having a grand ol' time! Happy April.  

Our Kind of Homework, A Wine Dinner

What did my friends say when I asked them to participate in my homework assignment?

"Umm, nah."

But, dear friends, what if said homework was drinking wine?

"So Tuesday, then? I'll bring a white. I think there's a good dip recipe around here..."

Callie, Trevor, Julia, & Lani- aspiring wine experts

Like true Virginia folk headed to a glorified pot-luck, we all brought a few things.

The food:

The smorgasbord of yummy foods and drinks.

• Cheeses
• Puave: a pepper soft white cheese
• Brie
• Habanero Jack
• Crackers
• Garlic bagel chips
• Jalapeno flat pretzels
• 7 Grain Pepper Crackers
• Other
• Roasted red pepper humus
• Mushroom/red pepper/greek yogurt dip
• Basil penne pasta with tomato sauce
• Dessert
• Cannoli
• Banana/white chocolate chips
• Triple Chocolate cake

And then there's the wines...

Name: Lost Vineyards "Vinho De Mesa Rose"

Variety: Rose mix
Region: Alentjo
Country: Portugal
Year: 2013
Price: $6.50
Best Pairing: Triple chocolate cake

What They Said: "If you enjoy the fruitiness of White Zinfandel, but are looking to try something new, Lost Vineyards Mesa Rosé is a delightful alternative.  We matched the sweetness and fruitiness level of classic California White Zin, but this wine is made from native Portuguese grapes — giving it a completely different flavor profile!  Bright and refreshing, it has flavors of sweet cherry, navel orange and tangerine with a hint of red berry."

What We Said: Often I have been successful with well-reviewed cheaper wines. However, this time it was not as great. It tasted a little sweet with some dryness on the finish without a lot of flavors I could pick up on except some floral notes on the front. Julia mentioned that should could almost imagine some mint. But when eaten with the chocolate cake, the cherry flavors came out quite strong. The sweetness of the cake must have tempered down the sweetness of the wine, making the flavors more visible to the palate. I could then taste a little citrus on the end with red berry. The chocolate texture also played with the feeling of the wine, making the wine feel lighter in the mouth by comparison. 

Name: Gnarly Head

Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: California
Country: United States
Year: 2011
Price: $11
Best Pairing:  Basil penne pasta with tomato sauce

What They Said: "The Gnarly Head winemakers secretly call Pinot Noir “the heartbreak grape.” Notoriously difficult and challenging to grow and vinify, yet impossibly seductive on the palate, it takes a combination of daring winemaking skill and exceptional vineyards to wrest greatness from this alluring variety which we make in our own gnarly style.
Our Pinot Noir has voluptuous, sleek tannins and lush fruit with aromas and flavors of violet, black cherry and plum with hints of toasted oak, cigar box, earth and spice. Round up some friends, break out a bottle of Gnarly Pinot Noir and enjoy with grilled salmon, glazed pork ribs or roast turkey."

What We Said: The nose of this wine had a lot of plum and white pepper. The front was full again with the plum, but then was followed by an oak and light spices. It had a medium body that felt good in combo with dark plum flavors. The salty foods made this wine horrible, and the desserts taste rather good with it, but it followed the red wine tradition of tasting best with the pasta dish. The spices of the wine mixed with with the fresh basil and tomato in the pasta, making for a thick but enjoyable mix on the tongue. Lani really liked this one- she said the dark berry flavor she detected was rather refreshing. 

  

Name: Kungfu Girl

Variety: Riesling
Region: Columbia Valley
Country: United States
Year: 2012
Price: $23.40
Best Pairing: Any cracker with the Mushroom/Yogurt dip

What They Said: "Lovely, expressive, bright and vibrant, with apple, lime and citrus blossom flavors, persisting enticingly as the off-dry finish lingers against natural acidity. Drink now through 2015." 90pts from Wine Spectator 

What We Said: The smell we all agreed was full of grapefruit, and a few of us thought there was a clean mineral-ish note there as well. The flavor was full of grapefruit as well as some blossom flavor. Trevor and Julia both agreed it was "grape-y." There was also a petulance to it, which I think is what helped it taste so good with the thick yogurt dip. Lani thought the cannoli made it taste awful, so I steered away from that. We all agreed this was the best, but we may have been a little biased because we all thought it had the coolest label, and it was the most expensive. With the chocolate cake it became a little more floral, which is why I thought the best pairing was the yogurt dip, since I'm not into very floral flavors. 

Sipping the red with the pasta

Modeling with our favorite label

Even with a few mishaps, we were plenty happy to keep trying different pairing combinations!

It was a lot of fun sharing what I knew about wine with my friends as we all trusted our taste buds to lead us to the best pairings. It was the best way to take a break from work for a little bit, while learning a little about the way wine changes and shifts depending on what you're enjoying it with. Also, not to be too mushy, even when we found a bad combination it was still enjoyable because of the company! 

Jaimie, unfortunately, is a minor and could only partake in the food. Maybe next time, kitty.