Over the course of this trip, it has been amazing stepping out of my comfort zone and trying a whole new array of foods. I have also been beginning to learn how to pair food with wine. While I am by no means very good at it currently, I am way better than when I started. I have come to realize that pairing food with wine is not as simple as it sounds. You have to take into account numerous different aspects of not only the food but also the wine. It has been an interesting process to learn about, but I have loved not only getting to learn about it but getting to try it out on my own.
Last Wednesday, at the wine and food tastings at the two vineyards, I loved getting to try all the amazing food items and loved seeing which wines they paired with which food items. At the first vineyards, it was straight forward; we did not have to pick out which food items to eat with which wine because they just served a specific wine with a specific course. However, at the second vineyard, we were a little bit more on our own. We had to decide which food items from the buffet that we were going to each with the wine. At first, it was a little hard to slow down and remember to carefully decide which food items I was going to pick to eat because I just wanted to try everything right away. In the next couple of paragraphs, I will focus on a couple of the food items we tried at the first winery because they were fill courses in a meal.
One of my favorite pairings from the first vineyard was chardonnay with the pasta. The pasta was comprised of a light cheese sauce, asparagus, and some sort of pancetta on top. Upon first arrival to the table, the dish smelled amazing; I could really pickup on the flavors of the sauce such as the slight hint of cheese, and I was also able to pick up on the smell of the crisp, warm pancetta. I was a little hesitant at first because I normally do not like asparagus, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well all the ingredient worked well together in the dish, even the asparagus. After taking my first bite, it was in love. The saltiness from the bacon worked well with the velvety cheese sauce and the mild, fresh taste of the asparagus. With the pasta, we drank the Vitalonga Chardonnay. Upon looking at the wine, it had a straw yellow color, so you could definitely tell it was aged in an oak barrel. In addition, upon smelling the wine, I was able to pick out apple and pear and could smell a little bit off the oak in the wine. Upon tasting the wine, it was very refreshing and even more so because it was served cold unlike to white wines I have normally tried in the past. I was able to pick out the flavors that when I smelled the wine. I thought this wine was very balanced in terms of the flow of how the body, the acidity, and the dryness worked together. When I drank the wine with the foods, the flavors really complimented each other especially in regard to the cheese sauce and the salty pancetta. In addition, the wine helped cleanse my palette between each bite of food which made the combination even better.
The picture above is of the creamy pasta and the chardonnay from the vineyard we visited last Wednesday. The description of the pair is above.
My favorite food and wine pairing from the first vineyard was most definitely the dessert. I had never had a good red wine with chocolate before, and when I did, the combination was amazing. The chocolate cake was moist and soft to the taste; in addition, it was filled with a warm, creamy chocolate fudge-like filling. The smell upon arrival was amazing; the aroma from the warm chocolate radiated through the air. There was also some fresh raspberry puree on the side of the plate that was tart to the taste; however, it went really well with the richness and sweetness of the chocolate cake and especially the filling. It also provided a nice texture to the cake as it was a light, jammy texture as compared to the thick texture of the cake and filling. When it came to the wine, the duo went together seamlessly. We had the red wine called Phiculle made from both Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese. From just the smell alone, I could tell it was a very smokey wine; I was also able to pick out some cherry even though it was a little bit harder because there was a strong oak aroma. When I tasted the wine, I was also able to pick out the same flavors. The wine was not my favorite on its own because it produced a very strong presence. There were lots of tannins, was highly acidic, and had a longer finish. However, it went wonderfully with the rich chocolate because the two in a way accentuated the flavors of the other in a way that was balanced beautifully.
This photos above depict the chocolate cake and the red wine we had at the first winery. The description of the pairing is above.
Going back to the very beginning, I had another amazing pairing of wine and food that I forgot to talk about in my previous blogs. At the welcome activity at the very first winery, we had a new take on bruschetta that I had never had before. The bread was toasted and then topped with olive oil, ricotta cheese and herbs, and then peas. To say I was hesitant is an understatement. Before this trip, I really never liked cheese especially ones that were softer and in a creamier form. I also really did not like not like peas, so I was not really looking forward to trying this. However, when I took my first bite, I was pleasantly surprised. The ricotta cheese was very mild and did not have the strong cheese taste/smell I was expecting it to have. In addition, the herbs in the cheese were wonderful and complimented the cheese really well. Since the cheese was not very strong, I was able to taste all the herbs very clearly. I was also pleasantly surprised by the peas on top. They provided a nice little fresh pop with the crisp bread and the creamy cheese. Overall, the dish flowed really well and all the flavors were wonderful together. With this bruschetta, we had my favorite wine of the whole trip. It was the Neri Ca’ Viti, which was their Orvieto Classico. Upon smelling the wine, I could definitely smell the crisp apple, and I could most definitely taste. It was the most refreshing wine I have had this trip; it was light, balanced, and overall a wonderful wine. When drinking this wine with the bruschetta, the most important aspect of the combination was the fact that the wine was able to cleanse my palette from the oil on the bruschetta. This meant that every bite tasted like a new bite, and I was able to clearly taste each one of the flavors.
The photo above is of the ricotta/pea ricotta bruschetta and the Neri Orvieto Classico. The description of the pairing is in the paragraph above.
Finally, one last dish that stood out to me this trip has been the ravioli I had in Rome that was filled with ricotta and spinach and topped with a tomato sauce. I normally am not a huge fan of ravioli because I get overwhelmed with all the filling, so I haven’t tried it since being here. However, I was pleasantly surprised after eating this ravioli at how much I actually really enjoyed it. The spinach and the ricotta inside were not overwhelming at all and went really well with the tomato sauce on top. When eating this meal, I did not get a glass of wine. However, I was pleasantly surprised and would most definitely get ravioli again.
Overall, throughout this trip, I have pushed myself to be more adventurous and try a wider array of food, and I can confidently say that I have. While I might not have been as adventurous as others, I definitely exceeded my expectations for myself. I have also learned so much about pairing wines and learning how to pick out flavors that would go well together.
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