Wine Dinner Blog Report
Appetizer: Garlic Crostinis
Main Course: Alfredo Linguini topped with Parmesan Crusted Chicken
Dessert: Homemade Cherry Turnovers
For this dinner blog, I wanted to get together with my best friend and treat her to a meal made entirely by me! I am not much of a talented chef, so I chose to stay within my comfort zone and make a meal I had made for myself a few times before
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| Boiling the linguini pasta |
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| Crostini bread bites before they went into the oven |
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| Parmesan chicken baking at 400 degrees! |
- Cupcake Vineyards 2022 Delle Venezie DOC Pinot Grigio: This wine was deliciously fruity and light on the mouth. There were definite notes of pear, lemon, and apple which aided in making this a pretty sweet wine, however there was a tangy and medium-bodied quality to it that made it much more complex and gave it more depth.
- Dark Horse 2022 Californian Chardonnay: This wine was super rich and buttery. A lot more complex of a wine than the Pinot, for it had a deeper muskier flavor profile to it, which I believe can be attributed to it being aged and fermented in oak. It had a nice acidity to it which was cutting and fresh, and had a peachy fruitiness to it that I really liked.
- Barefoot Californian Pinot Noir: This medium-bodied red was very warm and full of flavors, including cherries, vanilla, blackberry, and some spice (maybe pepper). It had a light tannic taste to it which I liked a lot, because it wasn't too mouth-puckering and still had a level of sweetness to it.
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| The wines |
Here are some photos of the final meal!
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| Paired the pasta with primarily the Pinot |
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| Here is my friend Maya who helped me with the plating! |
Major Notes:
The pasta and chicken were really really delicious. The Alfredo sauce I used was perfectly creamy and savory, and paired with the baked crusted chicken on top (which had a great amount of flavor and spice to it due to the breadcrumb mixture I used), it was a really well rounded meal! The crostini's were crispy and garlicky and served as a great appetizer and pairing side with the main course. I unfortunately did not take any photos of the final course which were the cherry turnovers, but they were flaky, sugary, and rich.
In my opinion, the wine that paired best with each course goes as follows:
- Crostinis tasted best with the Chardonnay
- The Alfredo linguini and parmesan crusted chicken paired best with the Pinot Grigio
- The cherry turnovers paired best with the Pinot Noir
The Chardonnay's fuller-bodied and oaky taste really elevated the buttery crostinis. The wine has a definite buttery aroma and taste to it, so the two really complimented each other in that area. It also helped to subdue some of the garlic just a tad with the acidity, making the bread taste a bit more mellow.
The star of the show in terms of pairings was definitely the pasta and the Pinot Grigio. This wine was super fresh and fruity with some deeper acidic complexities woven throughout to keep it away from the super-sweet side. This flavor profile meshing with the creamy and savory chicken pasta dish really helped bring out some new flavors. I noted how the pasta loss some of its heavier tastes and became much more light. The spices on the chicken were highlighted wonderfully with the fruity notes of the wine.
Lastly, our dessert was a warm and sweet cherry turnover, which went pretty well with the red wine. Because the pinot noir had hints of cherry and blackberry within it, when paired with this dessert I feel like those notes came out a lot more in the wine. The sweetness of the dessert cut back on the fuller tannic structure and left me with a very pleasant and smooth profile.
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| Here are some shots of us as we ate (at the couch of course to watch a movie with our meal!) |
