Wine Dinner Blog!

 Homemade Dinner with Boyfriend

    My boyfriend and I decided to have a nice night at home and pair 3 different wines with 3 different meals, 2 being appetizers and 1 being the main course. We really enjoyed trying each of the foods with each type of wine and seeing what we preferred best. Although we are not generally picky eaters, we were able to dissect specific flavors that were either enhanced or hindered by the wine in each food. The three wines we tried were: Shiraz, White Chardonnay and a Pink Zinfandel, each being from the Winking Owl Winery. The shiraz was very dry, with bold flavors that filled the whole mouth, cherry and blackberry notes. The Chardonnay was light, bitter and sour with hints of pear, it was buttery and smooth. Lastly, the pink Zinfandel was extremely sweet and fruity, very light, tasted like berries, not bitter at all. 

Appetizer #1

    For our first appetizer we made a little charcuterie board with 3 types of deli meat those being: pastrami, capocollo, and calabrese, each paired with olive oil and rosemary triscuits and a side of gouda cheese (I am dairy free so I was unable to eat the cheese, however my boyfriend did). 

First we paired it with the chardonnay. We both agreed that this was paired very well together. The spiciness of the meats was accented well by the wine. Since the wine was light with a refreshing after taste, it complimented the flavors and was not too overpowering. The crackers of course are very dry to begin with, but it helped that the wine did not have an overpowering dryness to it or else the two would not pair very well together. 

Next up we paired the cheese board with the pink Zinfandel. This wine was a great pair with this appetizer, since the wine was already very light on the palate it was easy and complimented the crackers and meats very well. It was refreshing since the crackers were dry and the meat was spicy! Not too overpowering. The sweetness of the wine made the meats and cheese taste less salty and balanced out the flavors nicely. 

Lastly, the Shiraz paired with the crackers and meats was not my favorite. The dryness of the wine overpowered the flavors from the meat and made the dryness of the crackers even worse. With or without the cracker, the wine was extremely dry and took away from the strong flavors expressed in the meats. This wine was overpowering, as soon as I took a sip after/before having a bite of food, all the flavors in the food were washed down from the powerfulness in the wine. 

Appetizer #2

    For the second appetizer, we decided to make homemade buffalo cauliflower bites. They were delicious with a little kick to them.

The buffalo cauliflower was well paired with the Chardonnay, it balanced out the flavors and did not overpower the spiciness of the cauliflower. It was refreshing and light on the palate. The butteriness of the wine accented the spiciness of the food. It was the perfect amount of spicy to fresh flavors paired together!

Zinfandel did not compliment well with the cauliflower. The sweetness of the wine was too much on the palate due to the already powerful flavors of the buffalo sauce. Too much was going on in my mouth when the two were paired together, they clashed. The sugariness and sweetness did not pair well with the hot and spiciness. 

The shiraz has large powerful flavors to begin with and so does the bold flavors of the cauliflower. I was not expecting these two to go well together, but they actually tasted great! Since the shiraz was so bold with a heavy and dry finish, when paired with the bold and spicy flavors of the cauliflower, they went hand in hand together. It did not overpower any of the flavors like it did when paired with crackers and meats, rather it balanced out the flavors of the buffalo and calmed it down a bit!

Main Course 

    For our main course we made homemade chicken sandwiches with ciabatta, grilled chicken, sliced tomatoes, artisan lettuce and lemon garlic aioli. 

Yet again, the Chardonnay paired great with the chicken sandwich. It complimented the freshness of the sandwich. I loved how it accentuate the flavor of herbs and spices in the sandwich. It was refreshing and very easy on the palate. 

The Zinfandel was not a bad pair with the sandwich. It was very light with sweetness and complimented the sandwich because it was very fresh and clean ingredients. There was no one flavor that was overpowering in both the sandwich and the wine so they paired nicely together!

After trying the Shiraz with the sandwich, I came to the conclusion that I would not drink this particular wine with a fresh, light meal like this. The shiraz overpowers the freshness of the sandwich. It is too bold for such a simple sandwich. I do wonder if this sandwich had more flavor popping, like a more powerful sauce, if it would pair better with this wine. But this was not my favorite pair.