Dinner - Homemade (No Theme)

This week my roommate and I decided to do a wine and food pairing. Thinking up the menu was basically almost just whatever decided to come to my head. I was in charge of the food, he was in charge of the wine, and I think it came down to a pretty great night. After selecting the menu for the night, I went to the store for food supplies and he went to the Vintage Cellar for some wine pairing recommendations.

The Menu for the night was:
Buffalo Chicken Spring Rolls with Rubus Arlanza Old Vine Tempranillo 2011
Grilled Angus Hamburgers with 2010 Gotham Shiraz
Double Fudge Brownies with 2011 Notaviva Vinyards "Gitano" Chambourcin

I was set to work in the kitchen, being the only attendee who I actually trusted to do anything more than burn the entire kitchen to a crisp. Boiling chicken for the spring rolls and cooking some bacon to top the burgers.

Boiling Chicken With My Grill Plate Ready

Bacon Always Improves a Meal

 After about a hour (of me cooking and everyone else drinking.) dinner was ready to be served.

Dinner On the Table With the Wines

For the most part, the first two courses paired well. I was much more impressed with the buffalo chicken and Tempranillo pairing than the burger, but I'll go into details below. After dinner, dessert (or the main course as some would say) was ready.

The Brownies Were Basically Annihilated After Cooling

Dinner was a great success, but now for the specifics of the night, the wines!

Rubus Arlanza Old Vine Tempranillo 2011

Their Description: 
Sight: Dark cherry red with violet hues.
Nose: Subtle aromas of forest fruits, characteristic of Tempranillo grapes, on a light backdrop of hints of vanilla from wood ageing.
Mouth: Full of fruity aromas in the mouth, with a smooth, honest passage.

My Description:
Nose: Overwhelmingly Cherry,  Oakish components in the background.
Taste: Full bodied, strong tannins, dry finish, berry, concord grape, and a grassy/earthy/dirt taste as well.
                                          Taste W/ Food: Again, it was paired with the buffalo chicken spring rolls,          which I thought it did greatly. The dryness cut through the spice really well and almost left it with a slightly sweet aftertaste when compared to drinking it by itself.
 

2010 Gotham Shiraz

 Their Description: 
Deep dense dark and brooding in colour with a stunning rim of purple/red in the glass! The nose is rich ripe plums and loads of primary spices including fennel, black pepper, with mocha and coffee highlights. The palate has superb velvet tannins and incredible soft finish length. The wine is big and rich, yet elegant and silky

My Description:
Nose: Little warm, sweet berry, and oak.
Taste: Slightly Tannic, slightly warm, sweet, dark fruit.
Taste W/ Food: I thought it really didn't show any new characteristics, but it may have been the fact that I really didn't care for this wine at all. There was something with the taste that truly made me dislike this wine.

2011 Notaviva Vinyards "Gitano" Chambourcin

Their Description:
Exotic and sweet, our "Gitano" Chambourcin after dinner wine pays homage to the music of the nomadic Romani people. Let the distinct sounds of the phrygian dominant mode fill your ears as the scents of wildflowers, spice and black cherries leap from the glass. Best paired with starry nights, bonfires and fast Gypsy music.

My Description:
 Nose: Super Sweet, flowers, buttery, blueberry, berry.
Taste: Medium Body, super smooth, raspberry, blueberry, sweet. I was very Impressed with this wine.
Taste W/ Food: I thought this wine paired extremely well with the brownies, the smoothness really went well alongside the fudge brownie and overall the taste reminded me of eating a very good chocolate covered raspberry or berry-type fruit.

Again, overall it was a great night even though one of the wines really didn't click for me. My favorite of the night was definitely the Chambourcin and I believe the Tempranillo was my favorite wine and food pairing of the night. It was a wonderful experience and I had a great time with my friends as well.