Homemade German Dinner

Homemade German Dinner
April 24, 2016

I prepared a dinner with several friends all of whom are in this wine class. We decided to choose a German theme for this meal to explore different food and wine combinations.  The picture below shows all of us gathered around my table enjoying our meal. In the picture from left to right is Dakota, Travis, Stephen, and myself (Philip).

For this meal we prepared a main entree and two side dishes. We paired our meal with three wines all of which were purchased at the Vintage Cellar. The main entree for our meal was a classic German dish of bratwurst. The bratwurst was prepared by first boiling it in beer and then finishing it on the grill. It was topped with sauerkraut and served on a bratwurst bun.

Our first side dish was German style au gratin potatoes. Au gratin potatoes are a thinly sliced potato topped with cheese sauce and onions and cooked in the oven for at least an hour.

The other side dish for our meal was creme spinach. The creme spinach was made with spinach boiled and then combined with a sauce of milk and cheese. Our meal can be seen in the picture on the right.

The first wine paired with this meal was a Oh Be Joyful Dornfelder Sweet Red 2014. By itself this wine presents with aromas of cranberrys and other dark berry smells. This wine tasted similarly to how it smelled. Again cranberrys were present. This wine was also semi-dry. The wine bottle is shown to the left. When paired with the bratwurst the wine became a lot smoother and the finish of the wine was a lot more pronounced. The potatoes drastically cut the acid of the wine and spinach also highlighted the aftertaste. This was a wine that was definitely
improved by pairing it with food. 


The second wine that was tasted was a Loosen Bros 2014 Dry Riesling. By itself this wine had a subtle floral and sweet smell. Overall thought this wine didn't have a whole lot of aroma to it. The taste of the wine was bitter and contained earthy elements along with a hint of lime. When paired with the entree and the two side dishes nothing really changed with this wine. It didn't add anything to the food and really didn't pair well with the meal. This wine was probably meant to be consumed by itself rather than with food. This wine is pictured on the right.

The final wine tasted during this dinner was a 2013 Erben Riesling. By itself this wine presented with floral smells similar to the Dornfelder. However, the aroma of this wine was more pronounced and also contained elements of citrus. This wine was smooth and sweet in taste. Elements of pear, citrus, and cantaloupe were present. By itself this wine was quite good. This wine is shown in picture below. When paired with all the foods at this dinner the citrus element was highlighted and more pronounced. The aftertaste was also gone completely when paired with food. Overall, the food definitely altered the taste of the wine and the wine enhanced the food as well.

  

Tasting - Fetzer

Name: Fetzer

Variety: Gewurztraminer

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2014

Price: $8.95

Winery Review: A rainy minerality on the nose of this sweet wine manages to cut through the sugared oranges, honeysuckle and ripe, tropical white fleshed fruit, from peach to cherimoya. The palate is full of honeyed apples, white peach and pineapple, but the decent acidity and chalky element stops it short of treacly.

My Review:  The smell of this wine reminds me of either pool chlorine or ammonia. Probably not the most desirable smell for a wine to have. However, the flavor is nothing like the aroma of this wine. This wine tasted like a mixture of orange and peach.

Tasting - Maipe

Name: Maipe

Variety: Malbec


Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2015

Price: $6.95

Winery Review: "The 2015 Maipe Malbec is another 100% Malbec, with a deep purple color and a style similar to the Lexicon, with chocolaty, blackcurrant and blackberry fruit, as well as touches of licorice and earth. It is delicious, soft and round." - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (March 2016), 87 pts - Excellent Wine Values for Under $25

My Review:  This wine contained many interesting elements. The smell was that of alcohol as well as spice. I thought the flavor was very woody and very earthy. This wine was also quite dry. If I had to narrow down the flavor to one element though I would say that it tastes like and unripe blackberry.

Tasting - Manoir du Carra

Name: Manoir du Carra

Variety: Beaujolais Nouveau Gamay

Region: Beaujolais

Country: France

Year: 2014

Price: $4.95

Winery Review: A pretty, floral wine, with a rose petal note underscoring the rich pomegranate and sweet plum flavors. The fresh acidity is balanced, and a light spice note lingers on the finish.

My Review:  This wine presented with fruity and floral aromas. The flavor had elements of sweet dark colored fruits. This wine had a slightly dry aftertaste to it and also had some spicy aftertaste elements to it. 

Tasting - Mapreco

Name: Mapreco

Variety: Vinho Verde Rose

Region: Vinho Verde

Country: Portugal

Year: 2015

Price: $7.95

Winery Review: The cherry color reveals a slightly fizzy wine that is a very fruitful rosé made from the traditional vinho verde white grapes. Adding a splash of red to offer flavors with notes of strawberry, cherry and berries. A delightful twist on the original.

My Review:  This may seem weird but this wine to me smelled kind of like cleaning products, like ones with fruity scents added to them. The taste presented with elements of light red berries such as strawberries. I actually really enjoyed this wine.

Tasting - Mars & Venus

Name: Mars & Venus

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: La Mancha

Country: Spain

Year: 2014

Price: $5.95

Winery Review: A very nice value Chardonnay that comfortably over-delivers vs. its modest price tag. No oak here, just bushels of clean, crisp, Chardonnay apple and stone fruit with a hint of caramelized pineapple.  Juicy and clean, this is a mid-weight white that's just perfect for parties or weeknight sipping.

My Review:  This wine presented with a very floral smell and fruity flavors. This was a very light and delicate wine that was also slightly sour. I also tasted the flavor of apples and overall I enjoyed this wine. 

Homemade Italian Dinner

Homemade Italian Dinner
April 2, 2016

I had dinner with a group of friends all of whom are in this class to explore different combinations of wine and food. We decided to go with an Italian theme for this dinner because simply, we all like Italian food. Two members of the group also have Italian heritages.

In the picture to the right from left to right is Stephen, Allison, and Travis. Then in the picture below again from left to right is Stephen, Travis, Dakota, and myself, Philip.  

For this meal, we prepared a three course dinner consisting of an appetizer, entree, and dessert. Each course was paired with a different wine that we purchased at the Vintage Cellar.



The appetizer for our meal was a spinach and parmesan cortini and was prepared for us by Travis. The cortini was a piece of toast with a spinach and parmesan topping that also contained cream cheese and pine nuts. The wine we choose to pair with this food was a 2014 Cortenova Pinot Grigio and was from Delle Venezie, Italy. The picture to the bottom left shows the bottle of the Pinot Grigio we used. The picture directly below shows the Cortini appetizer.

By itself this wine had a floral smell and presented with elements of citrus, apricots, and melons.  The scent of the wine very accurately reflected the flavor of the wine. This wine really tasted like honeydew to me with maybe some other type of melon mixed in. This wine also contained citrus elements; more specifically tangerines. This wine was also very smooth and was semisweet.

With this addition of food the flavor profile of this wine was definitely changed, although not necessarily for the better in my opinion. The cortini really cut alot of the flavor out of the wine. The wine also became more bitter. I think that this wine was too light for the dense fatty flavors of the cream cheese and parmesan.

 Next up was the entree round. For our entree we decided to go with the classic Italian dish of Spaghetti. The entree round was prepared by Allison and Dakota. The wine we used for out entree was a 2013 Gabbiano Chianti Classico. The bottle of wine is shown below in the middle picture.

By itself this Chianti was a dark color and smelled of clove, blackcurrant, and other black berrys such as blackberry, raspberry. There was also a hint of pepper. The taste of this wine was peppery and spicy. I also tasted blackberrys. I thought that this wine was average in flavor by itself.

With food the profile of the Chianti definitely changed for the better. The spaghetti really brought out the berry flavor of the wine and mellowed the peppery taste. The finish of the wine was a little hotter though. I thought this wine became much better when prepared with food which is not surprising since Chianti is usually meant to go with food anyway. Also, just for fun I tried pairing this wine with the cortini appetizer and that had a similar effect on the flavor of the wine as the spaghetti.

Finally, for dessert we had a classic Italian dessert, tiramisu. Tiramisu is a desert that consists of a topping made of egg yolk, mascarpone cheese, sugar, and dark rum. The layers are made of finger lady cookies, coffee, and more dark rum. You alternate layers of the cookies and filling. The tiramisu was also garnished with semisweet chocolate.  The dessert was prepared by myself and Stephen.

The wine chosen for the desert round was a Canei Vino Italiano. By itself this wine had a pleasant smell of pear and other fruity and floral flavors. The taste was something along the line of apricot or peach and it was very smooth. It also had that mouth fizzing effect similar to pop rocks as this wine was slightly carbonated.  The wine bottle is shown to the right.

I don't think this wine really paired well with the tiramisu. They were two very different flavor profiles. The wine was very light and fruity and the tiramisu was heavy and chocolatey. So the wine didn't really add anything to the desert and the flavor profile didn't change a whole lot when paired with food. I think this wine would have been better had it been paired with a more fruity dessert. The tiramisu is shown in the picture to the left.


   

Tasting - Beringer

Name: Beringer

Variety: Chenin Blanc


Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2014

Price: $5.95

Winery Review: A fresh green-apple aroma and vivid citrus and crisp apple flavors are supported by vibrant acidity in this medium-bodied wine. The texture is smooth but crisp, making lots of good food pairings come to mind, from pre-meal cheese, to salads, seafood and veggie pastas.

My Review:  This wine had a very light floral scent. The flavor consisted of peaches and oranges. It was a slightly acidic wine but was very smooth and really enjoyable.

Tasting - Carraia

Name: Carraia

Variety: Aglianico


Region: Campagna

Country: Italy

Year: 2013

Price: $9.95

Winery Review: Produced in the Campania region of Italy, this Aglianico has delicious black fruit flavors with hints of licorice, volcanic soil and tar notes. Classic in nature, yet in a lighter, more crowd-pleasing style, the Carraia is made of the ancient Aglianico grape. This black grape originated in Greece and today is widely grown in Basilicata and Campania.

My Review:  This wine was very dark in color. The smell was unpleasant as it smelled like nail polish remover or rubbing alcohol. The taste wasn't much better. I detected some oak flavor and it was very dry. I thought this wine was really bad by itself but I suspect that it may go better with food.

Tasting - Siema

Name: Siema

Variety: Vino Rosso


Region: Piemonte

Country: Italy

Price: $6.95

Winery Review: Intense ruby red with soft garnet nuances in the glass, the Rosso is intriguingly fresh, fruity and spicy on the nose. Perfectly round and balanced, the wine is particularly soft and dry. Pair with simple dishes like fresh cheese, ham, salami, or pizza for a divine culinary experience.

My Review:  To me this wine smelled of both blackberrys and vanilla. The scent of the wine accurately reflected the flavor of the wine. I tasted blackberrys, some earthy element, and just a little bit of citrus. The aftertaste as also dry and had some spice to it.

Tasting - Dom de la Foret

Name: Dom de la Foret

Variety: Grenache Cinsault


Region: Provence

Country: France

Price: $8.95

Winery Review: A stony, pure style, with a warm paving stone note framing the dried cherry and rose water notes. The long, watermelon rind—inflected finish is finely tuned. Shows length and cut, staying lacy in feel. 50% Cinsault and 50% Grenache.

My Review:  This wine presented with a light sweet berry smell, almost like apricots. The color was clear with a hint of gold. The flavor profiled as sweet at first and then turned sour which I enjoyed. This wine had a higher alcohol content as the aftertaste was hot and dry. I also tasted hints of citrus like oranges.

Tasting - Bricco dei Tati

Name: Bricco dei Tati

Variety: Cortese


Region: Piemonte

Country: Italy

Year: 2013

Price: $6.95

Winery Review: “Great Value! Treat this terrific little white like a red: Don’t chill it too much, then let it open for a half-hour to develop its enticing tropical fruit flavors. It’s dry, but the fruit gives an appealing illusion of sweetness. Great as an aperitif or with light seafood dishes.”

My Review:  With this wine I detected the smell of both apple and spice. This scent was reflected in the flavor of the wine as it tasted exactly like sour apple to me. This wine was very smooth and had a great clear color to it. This wine really hit the sides of my mouth when I drank it and kind of puckered the sides of my mouth.

Tasting - Crane Lake

Name: Crane Lake

Variety: Riesling


Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2013

Price: $5.95

Winery Review: The trademark German red grape varietal Dornfelder has a lovely purity of soft red berry fruit. Integrated soft tannins combined with forward fruit flavors make for a perfectly balanced everyday sipping wine. Great with grilled red meat, sausage and chicken. Best served slightly chilled.

My Review:  This wine smelled strongly of peaches and strawberrys.  The flavor of this wine really reminded me of strawberry flavored honey. It tasted exactly like one of those flavored honey straws that I used to eat as a kid sometimes.

Tasting - Crane Lake

Name: Crane Lake

Variety: Shiraz


Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2013

Price: $5.95

Winery Review: Beautiful ruby appearance, with blackberry and pepper notes. Tannins and fruit marry well for a soft finish. This wine pairs well with sharp cheddar cheese and hazelnuts. Also try it along with roast lamb at Easter time, veal marsala, or grilled salmon.

My Review:  This wine had a beautiful purple color to it and had a sweet fruity aroma. This wine was fruity in taste which was not quite what I was expecting but I really enjoyed the flavor of this wine. The flavors of this wine were big and bold and expressed themselves well.  There was also an oak aftertaste.

Tasting - Georges Duboeuf

Name: Georges Duboeuf

Variety: Nouveau


Region: Beaujolais

Country: France

Year: 2015

Price: $5.95

Winery Review: George Duboeuf is THE king of Beaujolais.  His wines are full of pop, charm and great flavor and his Beaujolais Nouveau is no exception.  A cornucopia of expressive fruit wrapped in an almost-bubblegum-like frame; it is the flagship Nouveau.

My Review:  To me this wine presented with flavors of both vanilla and dark berries such as blackberry. I thought that this wine was slightly bitter and dry but overall I thought this was a very good wine.

Tasting - Maipe

Name: Maipe

Variety: Torrontes


Region: Mendoza

Country: Argentina

Year: 2014

Price: $7.95

Winery Review: The wine has a spring-like nose of fresh white peaches, pears, green apple, green melon and hints of jasmine and rose petals. On the palate, it has a beautiful structure and acidity along with fruit flavors and plenty of body. Well-balanced, this wine displays a pleasant freshness with citrus notes and a long finish.

My Review:  This wine presented with a fruity berry smell and also contained aromas of melons.  The scent of this wine made the wine seem very delicate.  This was not the case however with the flavor of the wine. The wine has very strong flavors of citrus and lemon and I tasted some oak finish as well. This wine also reminded me a lot of the beer Blue Moon and flavors of orange and corriandor. 

Tasting - Tonnino

Name: Tonnino

Variety: Pinot Grigio


Region: Sicily

Country: Italy

Year: 2014

Price: $7.95

Winery Review: Tonnino’s exotic example of Pinot Grigio has a straw to pale gold color. It is fresh and clean on the nose with fruity notes of pear, green apple and white peaches. The palate is true to the nose with a fresh acidity, coriander and lime notes followed by a crisp finish. This wine pairs well with youthful aperitifs, clams or mussels, pastas and risotto dishes.

My Review:  This wine contained both a strong aroma and taste of green apple. A hint of citrus such as lemon or lime was also present and provided a nice acid level.  This wine was also quite tart and puckered my mouth when I tried it.  Finally, the aftertaste strongly reminded me of bananas.

Tasting - Peter Mertes

Name: Peter Mertes

Variety: Sweet Red Dornfelder


Region: California

Country:Germany

Year: 2014

Price: $6.95

Winery Review: The trademark German red grape varietal Dornfelder has a lovely purity of soft red berry fruit. Integrated soft tannins combined with forward fruit flavors make for a perfectly balanced everyday sipping wine. Great with grilled red meat, sausage and chicken. Best served slightly chilled.

My Review:  To me this wine tasted like a big bowl of fruit salad.  There were so many different fruity flavors in this wine it was hard to pick out any specifics. Oveall though, I enjoyed this wine quite a bit. It was very well balanced and was not overly sweet.

Tasting - Castello Sonnino

Name: Castello Sonnino

Variety: Chianti Montespertoli

Region: Chianti

Country: Italy

Year: 2010

Price: $8.95

Winery Review:  A blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Trebbiano and Malvasia del Chianti. Rich and modern, with a dark, saturated color and aromas of graham cracker and lemon rind. A juicy palate packed with plum and raspberry is carried by a creamy texture that’s rather toasty in terms of flavor. The finish is round, full and chocolaty.

My Review:  This was one of the worst wines I have ever had. This wine was so overwhelmingly dry! I literally felt like like I needed a glass of water after drinking this wine. The only flavor I managed to pull out of this wine was alcohol. The alcohol content of this wine was obviously very high and overpowered any other flavors that may have been present.

Tasting - Bolla

Name: Bolla

Variety: Bardolino Magnum

Region: Bardolino

Country: Italy

Year: 2013

Price: $9.95

Winery Review:  A blend of 60% Corvina, 30% Rondinella, 10% Molinara this bright ruby red wine has hints of black cherry on the nose.  It is soft and fruit-forward, with black-fruit flavors followed by a bright and fresh finish. Serve it as the Italians do – young and lightly chilled. Pairs perfectly with fleshy fish, beef, lamb, red-sauced pastas and pizza.


My Review:  This wine to me smelled like pine needles and actually reminded me of aromas of Christmas. There were definitely dark berry flavors in this wine but I couldn't come with any specific ones. This wine was overall bitter and I could tell it had a high alcohol content.

Tasting - Tenuta le Velette

Name: Tenuta le Velette

Variety: Orvieto Classico

Region: Orvieto

Country: Italy

Year: 2011

Price: $6.95

Winery Review: "The Berganorio Orvieto is a subtle wine with a bright palate. It shows white flowers on the nose and light citrus notes in the mouth. Its neutral character means it can accompany a wide range of foods. A blend of 30% Trebbiano, 30% Grechetto, 20% Malvasia, 15% Verdello, and 5% Drupeggio. The estate has 103 hectares on the hill opposite the hill town of Orvieto."


My Review:  This wine had a beautiful golden color. I thought the flavor was extremely mild and slightly floral. This wine almost tasted watery to me which I did not find very appealing. The aftertaste also contained hints of spice and overall this wine was dry.

Tasting - Aveleda Praia

Name: Aveleda Praia

Variety: Vinho Verde

Region: Vinho Verde

Country: Portugal

Year: 2013

Price: $8.95

Winery Review: A blend of 40% Arinto, 30% Loureiro, 20% Trajadura and 10% Azal. Full of fruit, a lasting peach flavor targeted with laserlike acidity through the finish. It has the bite of salty ocean air and a lot of zing. For langoustines.


My Review:  This wine had a great fruity smell. The flavor reminded me of freshly picked strawberries. There's a very specific flavor associated with picking a strawberry right off the vine and eating it immediately and to me this wine captured that flavor.