Wine & Dinner #1 - Italian Night

Tonight was our first wine and dinner, which featured a three-course meal with a different wine for each meal. Katie is also taking this class with us, so we got our group together to make our meal. We centered the dinner around Italy, so all of our meals were inspired from Italian-style food and all of the wines were Italian.


First Course - Insalata

Our first course - salad

Our first course featured a salad with romaine lettuce, red peppers, with breadcrumbs and balsamic vinaigrette. Due to the acidic nature of the vinaigrette, we paired this course with a 2020 Pinetti Notte Pinot Grigio delle Venezie. On it's own, the wine's aroma presented notes of peach and light fruit bouquets. After tasting, the wine had a high level of acidity and the flavors were light and crispy. The wine was not complex and had a short finish. 


The breadcrumbs and dressing was the best part

While eating the salad while tasting the wine, the two paired very well. The vinaigrette mellowed out the acidity of the wine and brought out the wine's tree fruit flavors. The flavors of peach and citrus became a lot more clear. This wine was a lot more pleasant while drinking with the salad. The salad tasted somewhat sweeter from the wine as well, and I would definitely have this pairing again.


The pairing was very good!

Second Course - Ravioli 


                                    Made my favorite dish - homemade ravioli                                         

Since I am Italian and we were doing an Italian dinner, I had to make homemade ravioli. The ravioli was stuffed with ricotta, parmesan and spinach, and the sauce was a basil and oregano marinara. This course was paired with a 2020 Dellatorri Chianti. This wine presented red fruit aromas, specifically plum and cherry. The flavors of this wine were more complex, with more oaky, fruity flavors that had a medium level of tannin. The flavors were a pleasant surprise, as the aromas were somewhat off-putting, and I was worried if this wine would taste good.


My Italian grandfather's recommended pairing

With the dinner, the ravioli and wine paired pretty well together. The sauce and wine together were somewhat heavy and dark, but the cheese stuffed in the ravioli brightened up the wine. This wine made the ravioli flavors more separated, and it was nice being able to enjoy each component of the ravioli. On the label of this wine, it stated that this Chianti is perfect for "fresh pastas in tomato, basil and oregano based sauces," so I think this pairing was meant to be. The vanilla flavors of the Chianti stood out more when drinking it with the ravioli. Overall, I would definitely repeat this pairing, but would be curious to try meats with the Chianti.


Final Course - Gelato


Our final course

Our final course featured a simple vanilla bean gelato. We paired this course with a 2020 Contempo Prosecco from Italy. On it's own, the aromas presented a strong apple smell with a hint of sweetness. The flavors of the prosecco were similar, but the wine was surprisingly dry. The prosecco was very light and had a medium amount of fizz. 


Our final and best pairing

With the gelato, the prosecco brought out it's sweetness. The gelato made the prosecco less dry and brought out more of it's fruity notes. I enjoyed this pairing, and the group collectively agreed that this was our best pairing of the night. 


Everyone's favorite pairing

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