Having fun, experiencing new wines, laughing with friends and enjoying incredible food is what our wine dinners are all about.
This month the theme was Mediterranean food and wines.
Find out how we did it...
We start just about every wine dinner with a greeter, usually a sparkling wine. Our hosts served several cheeses and salami with a really nice Prosecco, an Italian white sparkling wine. Sparkling wines are very food friendly so this was a good choice to pair with a variety of cheeses, fruits and salami.
I made another antipasto platter very similar to the last one but this time with grilled figs and blue cheese, tomatoes and artichokes. Because there were so many different flavors I opted for a Sauvignon Blanc from the Sancerre region of France. The wine was good with the artichokes and cheese but fell short with the figs. Since the figs were grilled they were really sweet. A dessert wine or even a sweeter Riesling would have been a much better pairing.
Next up was a Mediterranean pizza with tomato paste, yellow tomatoes and sliced green olives. Olives are always a bit challenging for wine pairing due to their salty nature but I've tried several wines that stand up to the challenge very well. 
I was a little surprised that the Bogle Chardonnay took the stage and did pretty well with this pizza.
Pam created a salad using a salad dressing with three parts acid to one part oil. In this case it was a combination of orange juice and balsamic vinegar mixed with extra-virgin olive oil with fresh rosemary. She tossed fresh peaches, goat cheese and pecans into a nice blend of salad greens. It was simply fabulous and paired well with another French Sauvignon Blanc across the river from Sancerre where the wines typically have more mineral flavors.
A chicken and spinach version of the Italian Veal Saltimbocca was paired with the third Sauvignon Blanc of the night. We didn't plan it but this turned into a very interesting tasting of different Sauv Blanc styles; this one being Frog Leap from California.
Move over and make room for yet another great dish and a wonderful pairing. The spice and fig flavors in the sauce and the spice and fruit in the Cabernet Sauvignon complimented each other so well that you would have thought they were made to go together.
chicken casserole with spiced figs
