Wine Dinner

    Friday night I drove to NOVA to visit my family and we decided to have a wine dinner. We started off by making an Argentinian appetizer of Choripan, which is a grilled chorizo sandwich. This dish has been a favorite in our family ever since we visited Argentina last summer. We decided to pair this appetizer with an Argentinian Malbec, called Luca. 

Dad, brother and I trying the wine alone

Just drinking the deep violet Malbec alone you could taste and smell the notes of dark fruits such as plum and cherry. It was my family and I's first time trying this wine from Uco Valley, Mendoza Argentina. Usually, we drink the El Enemigo Malbec, but for this dinner, we decided to spice it up a little and try a new one. 

2013 Luca Malbec from Uco Valley-Mendoza Argentina

The Malbec with the Choripan was amazing. The flavor of the chorizo enhanced the taste of the wine. According to the Wine Folly a bitter wine pairs best with fatty food. The chorizo was just fatty enough to enhance the unique cherry flavor of the Malbec. It was an all-around mutually great pairing. The wine enhanced the flavor of the chorizo and the chorizo heightened the notes of sweet tobacco.  

Malbec with choripan together

For our main entree, we ordered ceviche from a local Chilean restaurant. Ceviche is a traditional raw fish dinner marinated in lemon, seasoned with chili pepper, salt, and corn, and garnished with a piece of lettuce and sweet potato. We decided to pair this dish with a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc from Valle de Curico. 

The wine alone had notes of gooseberry, honeydew, grapefruit, and peach. With a medium-light body, no tannins, and a dry taste. This wine is an all-around great wine. By far one of our favorite white wines. The taste of citrus and tropical fruits was very evident in this wine.

2022 Panul Sauvignon Blanc from Valle de Curico Chile

Although the Sauvignon Blanc has high acidity the Wine Folly says the wine should be more acidic than the food. So the lemon marinade was very complimentary to the high acidity of the wine. The overall taste of the pairing was great. The acidity of the wine complimented the fish and lemon enhancing all the flavors. Neither overpowered the other. 

Wine with ceviche together

Finally, to end the night we had Italian cannolis from our local grocery store. We ended up pairing this dessert with a Bartenura Moscato D'asti also from Italy. This was one of the first wines I had ever tried when I was younger with my parents, so it has a special place in my heart. 

The wine alone is amazing, more on the sweet side. Definitely an acquired taste because I am the only one in my family that enjoys this wine. The rest of my family thinks it is TOO sweet. The flavors of pear, apple, and honey are very prominent and make for a great all-around wine. 

2019 Bartenura Moscato from Italy

The wine and cannoli pairing was too much in my opinion. The cannoli was too sweet and the combination of both was a sweetness overload. I never thought I'd ever say a dessert would be too sweet if only my younger self could hear me now. But nonetheless, this cannoli was too much. I believe a fruity dessert would have paired better such as a fruit tart. I believe this new pairing would be great because the sweetness of the wine would be cut by the fruitiness of the dessert. 

Wine with cannolis together

Overall, this activity was amazing I learned so much and can't wait to try new wine dinner pairings after this experience.