Wine Dinner #1

There is a stigma associated against college "kids" like myself. Older generations say we're uncultured -not yet mature enough to have developed any class. They say college kids don't know how to cook, we don't know how to manage money, and they think our main form of glassware are red solo cups. Well, I've got something to say about that!

...They're probably right. 

This week was my first attempt at preparing and hosting a "classy" wine dinner at my apartment. Of course, there were speed bumps along the way, but in the end, my friends and I still had a good time. 

   Above: My squad, all looking very graceful. 

   

Approximately 3 seconds after the above photo was taken, Hannah (right) spilled a glass of water on Ashley (center). This is the same Hannah who insisted her can of diet coke paired excellently with her Pinot Gris. Please ignore the fact that we used ice cubes because we were too impatient to chill the wine. At least the centerpiece is classy, right?

Now on to the courses:

As an appetizer, we had garlic bread and sipped on leftover wine from a couple days before. The wine was called "Menage a Trois" and was a 2013 rose.

Honestly, no thought was taken as to whether or not this wine would pair well with garlic bread (which, by the way, had an insane amount of garlic, but not a lot of butter). We were just trying to drink it before it went bad. The wine was very fruit-forward when we opened it. When we had it with this meal a couple days later, the fruit was even more intense. I'm not even kidding when I say the aroma profile was that of an off-brand strawberry shortcake doll. Like, it very obviously was intended to make you think of strawberries, and it definitely accomplished its goal, but it was a synthetic type of strawberry smell. I felt like I was using strawberry-scented shampoo rather than walking through a real strawberry patch. Not a bad experience, but it wasn't what I expected. 

Personally, I thought the overdose of fruit mixed with the overdose of garlic was strange. My friend, Sean, said he didn't mind the pairing, but that's probably because he's a strange mix of flavors himself. I thought it would've been better with a creamy white. 

The main course consisted of grilled salmon with a a pineapple glaze on top of white rice, with a slice of pineapple on top for extra garnish. The primary ingredients of the glaze were brown sugar, pineapple juice, and soy sauce. The combination of sweet and salty turned out rather well, and I was pretty proud of my accomplishment, despite the fact that the apartment smelled like fish for the next 5 hours. 

    Above: Grilled salmon with pineapple glaze

For this main course, we chose a 2013 Pinot Gris from J Vineyards and Winery. The wine was good on its own, with a nice feel that can only be described as "clean." The pairing was very enjoyable, and probably would have been just as good (if not better) with a white fish. The fruit flavors in the wine complemented the pineapple well. No complaints here!

The whole meal was wrapped up with dessert: homemade vanilla snow cream with chocolate syrup, paired with a sparkling moscato (the same from my earlier tasting article). Both were really tasty on their own, but I don't really know how well they complimented each other. They didn't "clash" per se, but they didn't bring out anything special in each other.


    Above: snow cream and chocolate syrup,
   which was paired with a sparkling moscato.

I would deem the night a success, overall. My friends and I had a lot of fun, and I think it's safe to say we learned a lot. We may not be classy adults quite yet (as seen by the "Tangled" Disney princess bowl pictured above), but we're learning to talk the talk while still having a good time. I look forward to our next wine dinner, and will be sure to record it here!