Dish three: asparagus cheesy risotto
Wine pairing: Santa Alessandra Pinot Grigio Valdadige 2013 (12% alc)
What I thought about this pairing...
when I first tried the wine, it was very acidic and hot. It's definitely a full-bodied wine with a fruity aroma - full of pineapple and pear. After taking a sip and trying the risotto, I noticed it calmed the wine down and made it more enjoyable. This honestly wasn't one of my favorite wines though. After watching Wine Library TV I was intrigued by the pinot grigio that Gary Vaynerchuk said was the king of pinot grigios, the Santa Margherita. That specific bottle was a little too far out of my price range so an employee at the Vintage Cellar led me to this bottle, the Santa Alessandra, which was a lot cheaper and shockingly looked almost identical in design. Overall, I liked this pairing and thought they complimented each other well but just didn't enjoy the wine alone.
Dish two: homemade mushroom pizza with mozzarella and tomato, basil sauce
Wine pairing: Columbia Crest Cabernet Sauvignon 2012 (13.5% alc)
MY FAVORITE WINE RIGHT HERE. Yes, I have blogged about this wine before and have tried it with various cheese and chocolates but I thought why not give it a try with homemade pizza. When I drink this wine the three main components that pop out at me are chocolate, vanilla, and cherry so automatically I think of just diving into a tub of Lindt milk chocolate....but I contained myself. So, I gave it a shot, took a bite of pizza and had some of this delicious red wine and it really didn't make me enjoy the wine as much as I liked. I think red wine is overall a much better wine to have with red sauces and red meats but I think this particular wine pairs a lot better with chocolate A LOT of chocolate.
Dish one: herb garlic marinated grilled chicken
Wine pairing: Tarima Blanco 2013 (13.5% alc)
I thought that this wine really complimented the chicken. The chicken helped calm the wine because prior to eating, I could easily taste the alcohol in the wine. Similar to the pinot grigio above, this wine smelled of pineapple and fruit with a hint of rubbing alcohol..odd, yes, but I smelled it. Sip after sip, bite after bite, I wanted to just keep eating and drinking. I thought this was probably the best pairing of the night. We tried pairing this wine with the risotta and I never thought I would say this or think that this was actually possible but it was horrible. After having some risotto and sipping on some wine I felt a burning sensation in my mouth. Not pleasant.
Safe to say our night ended with finishing the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and chocolate :)
Bon Appetit!
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