Round up your friends, add a grill, in this case 3 grills, a fabulous menu and excellent wines to taste and you’ll have the makings for a great party. And that is exactly what we did. Our hosts had three grills going for our last wine dinner party- the theme: grilled foods. And the flavors just melted in our mouths.
The greeter food and wine pairing was a grilled roasted red pepper stuffed with goat cheese,
paired with a sparkling wine. It is always a great thing to come to dinner and receive a glass of bubbly and a smile. It sets the tone for the evening. Sparklers are such food friendly wines. They will go with just about anything and in this case the smoky theme was working for us. Roasted red peppers completely change their flavor profile when grilled. They take on a sweet smoky flavor. If you don’t like red bell peppers, don’t sell yourself short; try one that has been roasted. They are oh so good.
Our next course was a cold Red Pepper Bisque with crab and avocado.
I am betting that the red peppers were grilled, if not maybe it was all the smoke going up and I just imagined it. The wine was a very tasty Sonoma Valley 2011 Ferrari Carano full bodied Chardonnay. The citrus and apple notes balanced out the vanilla and toasted oak flavors. This wine’s creamy texture was in perfect balance with the creamy soup and crab giving it all a great mouth feel.
Next was a little bit of this and that including grilled red peppers, marinated, grilled asparagus wrapped with prosciutto, grilled paprika lime summer squash, and grilled eggplant that was basted with a rich tomato sauce. Add a good salami and pepperoni and you have a great
antipasto platter 
served with a 2011 San Vincenzo white wine from the Veneto’s Soave district.
Roberto Anselmi chose to label his wine as Veneto IGT to avoid following the Soave DOC, demonstrating dedication to superior quality. 
This wine is a blend of 80% Garganega, 10% Chardonnay, 10% Sauvignon Blanc providing a crisp wine that compliments grilled food. You’ll get scents of lemon, lime, apricot and yellow apples with a medium body.
Next up was a grilled chicken breast seasoned with wonderful Indian spices including cumin then marinated in yogurt.
The flavors were perfect with the 2010 South Australia Viognier from Yalumba winery, one of the premier wine producers in the country. While a Viognier’s light straw color might lead you to believe that it is a sweet wine, it is actually a dry wine with a large gamut of flavors ranging from citrus, apricot, to ginger.
Following was another highlight, grilled marinated tenderloin
served with two very different style Zinfandels. Both Zinfandels were delicious with the tenderloin but the 2010 V. Sattui from the Dry Creek Valley, Ramazzotti Vineyard seemed to be everyone’s favorite with the grilled flavors. The tasting notes describe this wine as a spicy, dusty, blackberry-laced Zinfandel that craves the company of spicy, grilled meats. The other was 2009 Tobin James French Camp Vineyard from Paso Robles. This was a big spicy wine with lots of juicy fruit and some thought the fruit was a little sweet, but we all thought it was a really tasty bottle.
The tenderloin had so much flavor. It was marinated then grilled. It was served with your choice of 4 great sauces. I didn't think that the tenderloin needed anything at all so I ate the sauces separately like dips. They were each amazing and all very different:
creamy horseradish
citrus and herb
mustard
sautéed mushrooms
The flavors were amazing but we're not done yet. Can't forget about our sweet tooth. We finished the evening with grilled pineapple and pound cake, served with a light slightly sweet white wine.
Recipes are to follow
Wow, what a wonderful grilled food and wine dinner!
See my tips for successful grilling