Wine Dinner - Italian Theme (Food)

For this weekend's wine dinner I decided to come up with an Italian themed dinner, even though I didn't really have any experience with cooking Italian. For an appetizer I decided to make a mozzarella stuffed arancini (rice ball), for the main course I made a Cajun shrimp Alfredo, and for dessert I made tiramisu cupcakes. All of the wines that I bought for the night were under $10, which I thought was pretty great because I ended up enjoying each of them.

Our Wine For the Night

 Cooking was for the most part a breeze compared to last time, though the arancini gave me the most trouble. The rice was insanely sticky due to the egg/Parmesan mixture that was added to it. The pasta was quick and simple and ended up being super good. My girlfriend actually stepped in and made the cupcakes for me which really was a huge time saver.

Making the Arancini

Cupcakes Fresh Out Of The Oven

First up we had the arancini paired with the Ruffino Orvieto Classico 2012, which I thought paired OK, not really greatly but not badly either.

Starting with the Appetizer

Next up was the main entree for the night, a Cajun shrimp Alfredo (which I accidentally made a bit too spicy) which was paired with the Seaglass 2012 Sauvignon Blanc. I thought this was definitely the best pairing out of the entire night.

The Extra-Spicy Shrimp Alfredo

 For dessert I was originally going to make an actual Tiramisu; however, they are pretty time intensive having to make and set up, so I decided the next best thing was a tiramisu cupcake that my girlfriend had found a recipe for online. We paired this with ChocolateRogue Sweet Red Blend, which ended up being my least favorite pairing of the night. Overall it was a very fun night with my friends with some amazing food. My complete reviews are below.

The Delicious Tiramisu Cupcakes

(Side Note: My prices may be slightly off since my receipt was destroyed while cooking dinner, but I believe these prices are close to being correct)

Ruffino Orvieto Classico 2012 $8.50 12% ABV

Wine Maker's Notes: The taste is lightly sweet and smooth thanks to the balance between structure, acidity and fruity notes. The aftertaste is long and fragrant, with neat hits of fresh almond due to the chalky soil of the Orvieto production area.

My Notes: The nose had a very sweet floral component, with some apple undertones. The taste was mildly acidic, semi-sweet with strong green apple taste with some generic concord grape flavors as well.

Notes W/ Food: The sweetness of the wine came through more when paired with the cheese of the rice ball. The acidity was strong enough to really cut through some of the thickness of the ball and ended up being more of a smooth sweet wine.

Seaglass 2012 Santa Barbara County Sauvignon Blanc $9.99 13% ABV

Winemaker's Notes: Our Sauvignon Blanc has pronounced aromas of lemon, lime, grapefruit and fresh cut grass. On the palate, this distinctive California Sauvignon Blanc is clean and crisp with gooseberry and tangerine notes and a slight trace of minerality. The acidity is mouthwatering and zingy and is followed by a lightly tart finish. SeaGlass Sauvignon Blanc is the perfect companion to
oysters and light seafood pastas.

My Notes: The nose was really lacking for this wine in my opinion, with it mostly comprised of a strong acidity. The taste was strongly acidic with some citrus fruit flavors. Very smooth and sweet up front with a tannic aftertaste.

Notes W/ Food: This was a great pairing. The strong acidity really cut through the creamy Alfredo and helped to cut down on the spice. No real flavor changes were noticed in my opinion, but it was a great pairing.

ChocolateRouge Sweet Red Blend $9.50 12.5% ABV

Winemaker's Notes: Deliciously different, ChocolatRouge Sweet Red is a luscious blend of fine red wine and rich chocolate flavors reminiscent of chocolate-dipped red berries with a soft velvety finish.

My Notes: The nose was insanely sweet with overwhelming chocolate, like opening a hershey's bar and smelling it. The taste was super sweet with chocolate being the dominant taste. There were some red-wine undertones that really reminded me of a typical red-blend table wine.

Notes W/ Food: This was the weakest pairing of the night in my opinion. The wine didn't pair well at all, and really brought out the red-wine flavors which would have been OK if it was an enjoyable red-blend flavors, but for me it was not.

The recipes I used for dinner tonight are here:

Arancini: http://mymansbelly.com/2010/01/04/arincini-di-riso-ushering-in-the-new-year/

Shrimp Alfredo: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peppered-Shrimp-Alfredo/Detail.aspx?evt19=1
(Don't use as much cayenne as the recipe calls for, it'll be inedible for most people)

Tiramisu Cupcakes: http://www.laurainthekitchen.com/recipes/tiramisu-cupcakes-/