Do you select a wine first then a food that pairs with the wine or do you select your food first. Either way it seems our wine dinners are always have excellent pairings. I don't know how much homework everyone does, but the results are amazing. I believe as a group we love to eat and drink fabulous food and wines and our October dinner was proof of that.
We enjoyed several dishes beginning with a wonderful soup
that was paired with a Soave Classico.
Our next dish was Chicken Piccata and it was also paired with a Soave Classico. We loved the toasty almond notes along with lemon zest and buttery goodness. It has medium plus acidity that stood up to the lemony chicken sauce.
Next we enjoyed Chicken Enchiladas with St. Kilda Chardonnay, a crisp and fruity wine. Far from the California buttery style, this wine had a long finish with nice acidity and notes of lime and apple. The St. Kilda Chardonnay paired nicely with the enchiladas.
We brought back a Brunello Di Montalcino from Italy that I wanted to share with my friends.
While thinking about the wine and the food I wanted to go with it I decided to make my own recipe. I knew the Brunello would go well with tomatoes and chicken so that became the base for my recipe. I browned the chicken, added home canned tomatoes, herbs and spices and slow cooked it until the meat fell away from the bones and the sauce had thickened to a rich, flavorful dish. The Brunello did not let me down, it was a very good pairing.
All Brunello di Montalcino wine is made exclusively from Sangiovese grapes grown on the slopes around Montalcino – a classic Tuscan hilltop village 20 miles south of Siena.
This wine was full of blackberry , black cherry, black raspberry, chocolate, leather and violets flavors and aromas. The smooth tannins and ripe, fruit driven character allow it to pair well with food.
Dessert was a delicious cheesecake with a lemon glaze that was very close to lemon curd.
It was paired with a Don Fino Sherry. Thanks to Donna and Ron for bringing this back from Spain.
It was quite a treat. Made from 100% palomino grapes it is a delicate and dry white wine that matures in a Solera, under flor (a veil of yeast) for a minimum of five years giving it a very pungent aroma with a crisp, dry finish. Once opened we were encourage to drink it to the last drop as it looses its flavor quickly.