Wine and Dine - A Review of a Wine Dinner

DINNER SELFIE!

Last Tuesday, 4 of my friends and I got together and cooked a delicious meal and paired it with some fabulous wines! I am on the bottom right in the turquoise and gray!

We started our evening off with cheese, avocado/mango salsa, and of course WINE while we finished up the cooking! We had Conde Villar's Vinho Verde which I have already blogged about which went nicely with some of the calmer cheeses (Blue Cheese mainly). We also had Veritas Sauvignon Blanc which was DELICIOUS and went really well with the 2 Goudas we had (one was a bacon smoked hickory Gouda and the other was a plain Gouda). The Sauvignon was a little sweet, a little dry, a little bubbly, and a whole lot of everything I love! Cheeses aren't exactly my thing, but the wines really brought out the subtle flavors and creaminess of the Blue Cheese and then the strong bacon/smokey flavors of the Goudas.

Sauvignon Blanc and the 2 Goudas!

Avocado/Mango Salsa! YUMMM!

Bacon Wrapped Steak BEFORE!

After everything was cooked up we sat down, popped a bottle of Shiraz, and chowed down on the Bacon Wrapped Steak, Grilled Asparagus, Sautéed Mushrooms, Fresh Mashed Potatoes, Rolls, and a Mixed Green Salad with Cranberries and a homemade Balsamic Vinaigrette.

DINNER TIME!

Shiraz!

As I've said a million times before in this blog, red isn't my favorite. I love the smells and the flavors you get from the scent of reds, and I like the flavors in reds, but I HATE the way it makes your mouth feel with the tannins. However, I will say that when paired with things like steak, the Shiraz's tannins were not that bad. The earthy, black pepper, clove, and a little smokiness flavors of the Shiraz went really well with the grilled steak! The bacon that was wrapped around it's flavor was even better with some of the tannins. I think the only improvement would have been if we had added a little clove or cinnamon to the spice mix on the steaks! Yumm! All of the sides were good with the Shiraz, but after a small glass of it I switched back to the Sauvignon and they were amazing with the white. Because the Sauvignon wasn't overwhelming with meaty flavors it allowed me to taste the flavors and spices in the sides. 

Lemon Brownie Bar... YUMMERS!

Zee Moscato!

After we were through with dinner we cleaned up and moved onto desserts! I made the group a lemon brownie bar with a lemon zest glaze. We had it with a Moscato D'Asti. It was a super sweet and super bubbly wine and was divine with the tartness and sweetness of the lemon bars. Definitely they both brought out all of the citrus and tart of each other. Such a great way to end a great meal! 

OVERALL GREAT TIME, GREAT FOOD, GREAT WINE, GREAT FRIENDS!