Wine Dinner 3

Course 1: Dressed Crostini w/ Chianti

For this course, I paired a Chianti with a dressed crostini. I came across this beautiful olive rosemary sourdough loaf at a local bakery, and I thought it would certainly fall somewhere in my wine dinner tonight. I decided make a freshly baked crostini out of the loaf with some drizzled olive oil, goat cheese, pepper jam, and some crispy prosciutto.

Name: Toscolo Chianti

Variety of Grape(s): Sangiovese

Country of Origin: Italy

Region of Origin: Chianti

Vintage Year: 2022

Price: $18.99

Nose: Strong nose, tannins, red berries, earth

Taste: Very balanced, acidic, red berries, tannic, medium mouthfeel, pretty dry, tobacco, oaky, vanilla

Pairing: Jam hides sweetness of the wine while prosciutto hides acidity and dryness. Overall balance remains the same, but less pronounced flavors overall. Oaky flavors remain.

Course 2: Black Truffle Mushroom Ravioli w/ Sangiovese

For our second course, we enjoyed some black truffle mushroom ravioli with chicken meatballs from Trader Joe's. I also made a quick tomato, cucumber, mozzarella salad topped with basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, oregano, and salt and pepper. To pair, we decided to compare two seemingly similar wines. I chose a second Tuscan, sangiovese-based wine that I picked up from Vintage Cellar.

Name: Famiglia Corsettini Arbos Sangiovese

Variety of Grape(s): Sangiovese

Country of Origin: Italy

Region of Origin: Tuscany

Vintage Year: 2020

Price: $12

Nose: Pepper, acidic, dry, tannins, dark berries

Taste: Sweet, yet balanced, cherries, dark berries, tobacco, dry, very peppery, spiced, light mouthfeel

Pairing: Absolutely amazing. Every single thing about it was perfect. Richness of cheese and black truffle cut by acidity and dryness. Mozzarella tasted super sweet and had a wonderful creaminess. Rosemary in the chicken meatballs went wonderfully with the pepper and spiced flavors of the wine.

Wine was a 4.3/5. I loved it!

Course 3: Bananas Foster w/ Sauternes 

For our final course, I paired my "Tyler's Famous Bananas Foster" with a nice sweet Sauternes at Trader Joe's.

Name: Louis Eschenauer Sauternes

Variety of Grape(s): Muscadelle, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon

Country of Origin: France

Region of Origin: Sauternes

Vintage Year: 2022
Price: $9.99

Nose: Mild aroma, floral, citrus, fruits, grapefruit is strong

Taste: Very sweet, yet balanced. Apple, sugary, brown sugar, pear, fruity, less citrusy

Pairing: They go well together. Walnuts and banana pair super well with the sweetness. Creaminess of the ice cream is cut by the slight acidity in the wine.