Wine Dinner

Wine Dinner with the Family

            A perfect time to celebrate!  I had just been accepted into Montana State University’s Graduate program and my mom had just finished chemotherapy – so my mom, step-dad, sister, boyfriend and I all got together to have a nice wine dinner.  I picked out the three wines (one white and two reds) and my step-dad prepared the food to go with each wine.           

We started off with smoked shrimp from the grill and crackers with Havarti cheese to compliment the first wine – Chateau Ste Michelle Pinot Gris 2011 (Columbia Valley, Washington).  The smell of the wine was crisp and clean with lots of green apple aromas.  The wine itself had a slight effervescence to it that I really enjoyed along with a fruity taste and a great finish – there was no acidic “bite” at the end like I was used to.  With the cheese and crackers, the wine didn’t change much but it did compliment the food very well.  When tasting the Pinot Gris with smoked shrimp, the acidic undertones came out a bit more.  Overall this wine was a winner with the entire family (and was only about $11)!

            

Next, we had a Kenwood Vineyards 2010 Merlot from Sonoma, California.  The smell was extremely strong (which made me a little nervous) with lots of berry, oak and black cherry flavors.  However, the taste was much lighter and much more enjoyable than the smell.  It was extremely smooth and also had some hints of chocolate.  This wine also didn’t have the usual acidic alcohol “bite”.  We paired the Merlot with a nice salad with lots of vegetables.  When tasting the wine with the food, more of the fruity, plum flavors were apparent (maybe due to the earthiness of the salad).  It also made the wine slightly more dry, but not in a bad way.  Again, this wine was enjoyed by everyone (except my boyfriend, who isn’t much of a wine drinker).  

The last wine of the night was a Beringer Founders’ Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 from Napa, California.  The aromas on this wine were strong, like the Merlot, and had spice, berry, and vanilla flavors.  When I tasted this wine, I couldn’t believe the smoothness!  All the Cabernet’s I’ve had to this point were very bitter, acidic and hot (from the alcohol), but this one was so drinkable and enjoyable!  This was then paired with a nice, juicy steak and baked potato.  This complimented the wine very well but I didn’t really detect any significant changes of the flavor profile. 

Overall, this was the best wine experience I have had throughout the semester in Geography of Wine.  It was great to spend time with my family talking about the wines and sharing the knowledge I had gained from the class – they were very impressed.  I don’t know if I just happened to pick out three good wines or if the “feel good” site and situation affected my perception of the wines – but either way I really enjoyed them and had a great time.