Wine Dinner Blog 1!! (Ft. special guests...)

        Well hello and welcome back to another wine blog! This time, it is a wine dinner blog that was a lot of fun. Enjoy!

           So, my older sister and her boyfriend went home this weekend, and because I simply cannot be left out, I also went home. While there, I decided to make my family participate and enjoy a wine dinner (so that I can get those extra credit points of course). We made a trip to Costco (mom's favorite place) the day before, got some food, picked out a couple of wines, and then ate, drank and had fun. That being said, please enjoy and know that this entire night was 100% sponsored by Costco.

This is the majority of the group. From left to right it is: Julia (my friend), me, the boy is Conner (sister's boyfriend), Makenna (sister), and the lovely lady sitting is my mother. 

We decided to try an Italian sort of dinner theme. We had stromboli, lasagna, and a beautiful tuxedo mousse cake (could not find tiramisu). 

With this, I grabbed two red wines and a chardonnay. 

        

        This is the first of the red wines. It is a fresh, medium-bodied, red blend varietal with a vintage of 2022. It is from the California region, and was less than $10 at Costco. It had a mix of dark fruits - like blackberry and plum - with a hint of spice and maybe even a little vanilla. On the palate, it was smooth and fruity with soft tannins, a little sweet, and very easy to drink. You could definitely pick up the blend of Zinfandel, Merlot, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon in how mellow and round it was.

  

        This is the stromboli, which we ate as an appetizer. It had mozzarella, prosciutto, and salami, and was served with a side of marinara as a dipping sauce. It was delicious!

        This pairing actually worked pretty well. The slightly sweet and spicy notes from the Apothic Red played nicely with the salty, savory meats and gooey cheese. The acidity (or really just not sweetness) in the marinara helped to balance the wine's fruitiness. It didn’t clash or overpower anything, but I wouldn’t say it elevated the dish - it just complemented it nicely. The wine mellowed out the saltiness of the meats (salami especially), which made the whole bite smoother and just overall more enjoyable. 

 

        This was our white wine, also from Costco, and honestly a nice surprise. It was a classic California chardonnay - golden in color with aromas of green apple, pear, and a hint of butter. Its vintage is 2022 and I believe it was $7.99. On the palate it was creamy, lightly oaked, with bright citrusy acidity to balance it out.

        This was a hearty, homemade (it is obviously not homemade- shout out to Costco!) lasagna with beef, tomato sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan - very comforting and rich. Definitely hit the spot.

        Now, chardonnay with lasagna might sound strange, but it actually wasn’t terrible! The creamy texture of the wine actually matched the cheesy elements of the lasagna pretty well. The acidity helped cut through some of the richness, especially with the ricotta. That said, I probably would have preferred another red with this one. The wine didn’t clash, but it didn’t stand out much either. It kind of disappeared with the stronger tomato and meat flavors. Honestly, not a bad combo for someone like me who doesn't really drink with food. Just enjoyable and easy.

 

        This was our third wine. It is a 2022 Malbec, from Argentina, that was around $11 from Costco. It was bold and juicy, with deep purple color. From the smell, I got black cherry, blueberry, and a touch of cocoa. It had medium tannins, good body, and a rich finish - definitely the most structured wine of the three, and by far my favorite.

    For dessert, we grabbed this beautiful tuxedo mousse cake, which had layers of dark and white chocolate mousse, soft cake, and a glossy chocolate glaze. Not Italian, but too good to pass up, and it seriously was gorgeous. Obviously, I was too focused on eating it to actually get a picture of the whole thing. It was gone fast, so I'm lucky I got a picture at all. 

    The Malbec and the cake together were amazing. The richness of the wine matched the richness of the chocolate perfectly. The fruity notes in the wine brought out the sweetness of the dark chocolate mousse, while the slight bitterness from the cocoa in the cake helped balance the tannins in the wine. Definitely my favorite pairing of the night! The wine didn't overpower the dessert, and vice versa - they both got better together.

This is my friend Julia, as pictured earlier. She was also a student at Virginia Tech, but never got to take the wine class despite wanting to, so this was a fun experience for her as well. 

Of course, my girl Chernie also had to get in on the action. She definitely loved the company that we had tonight, and hated that the attention was on the wines and not on her. 

Overall, this night was a lot of fun and I definitely learned a little bit, and really enjoyed getting to share this with my family. Each of the wines brought something different to the table, and it was cool seeing how they paired, or didn't, with each course. I did try each wine with each course, and these were the best pairings, which is not what I expected. I was very surprised by the chardonnay and Malbec. I think it all turned out to be an interesting combo, and well worth the time and money. I highly recommend to force your family into doing a wine night, because that's exactly what I did.

The following are just some pictures of the meal in progress. 

Honorable mention that is completely irrelevant: this is my little brother and his gorgeous girlfriend. Both in high school, so they obviously did not drink, but it was their homecoming night! Just want to put in there- this is the height difference we all deserve. Don't settle.