1st wine dinner

I finally did a wine dinner to blog about! This was so fun because we had two friends visit from out of town so we got to catch up and reminisce during our dinner. 

Appetizer & 1st wine:

Appetizer: Ritz crackers & various cheeses (sharp cheddar, colby, )

Wine:

Name: Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio

Variety: Pinot Grigio 

Region: Atesino delle Venezie

Country: Italy 

Year: 2013

Price: $10

 This wine was pretty cheap and I wasn't a fan of it, although my roommates really enjoyed it. It was crisp with an earthy taste. There were notes of pear and flowers. It went really well with SHARP cheddar cheese. When I was picking out a wine to go with cheddar cheese, I was originally going to go with a Chardonnay, but the wine guy at Kroger told me to go with a Pinot since the cheddar was sharp and would overpower a Chardonnay. He suggested just normal cheddar for a Chardonnay. I think he was right in persuading me to a Pinot because the cheese didn't overpower it and it was a nice compliment to the cheese, and I really didn't even need crackers for it. It didn't go as well with the other cheeses. 

Main course & 2nd wine:

Main course: Pasta with either a meat marinara or pesto 

Wine:

Name: Bay Bridge Chardonnay 

Variety: Chardonnay

Region: California

Country: United States

Year: 2014

Price: $3

This wine was not too oaky for an oaked Chardonnay. I didn't personally like it, but my roommates did. I was going to pour the rest of the bottle out after dinner but they requested to keep it for themselves. My roommate was the one in charge of preparing the main course and chose to do a pasta with pesto. As I was about the eat the first bite, I realized I had never had pesto before and was curious as to what was in it. My roommate replied, "lot of basil," so I decided to see the ingredients on the jar myself. THANK GOODNESS I checked, because the third ingredient was almonds, which I'm VERY allergic too. It all worked out though, and we whipped up some quick marinara with beef for me to eat instead. I don't personally know how this Chardonnay paired with the pesto, but my roommates said it went nicely with it. It was okay with my pasta, but then again I didn't really like the wine to begin with. 

Dessert & 3rd wine:

Dessert: Oreo Triple Layer Chocolate Pie

Wine: 

Name: Peter Mertes Platinum Riesling

Variety: Riesling 

Region: Rheinhessen

Country: Germany

Year: 2013

Price: $10

My roommate picked this Riesling out for me because she knows I LOVE Riesling and other sweet, white wines. This was a pretty good Riesling, it was sweet and refreshing. It didn't have a strong nose, but it had a nice, juicy, sweet flavor. It was crisp and good to drink alone. It became not nearly as sweet and good when it was paired with the chocolate pie though. The chocolate pie was sooo sweet (and very yummy), but it's sweetness definitely overpowered the Riesling's sweetness and make the wine almost bitter. I definitely wouldn't pair these two again, and probably wouldn't even pair anything with this pie again, just because it is so sweet and is going to overpower any sweet wine immediately.