Wine Dinner #2 - Ladies' Night!

Friday night was wine night with the ladies! We had a great mix of Geog of Wine students, Geog of Wine alums, and friends not in the class but those who are into wine and food!

Appetizer: Cheddar cheese and Pinot Noir 
For our appetizer(s) we had a ton of options for food, including cheese, guacamole, a beautiful brie and apricot dip, and then more cheese. For this entry, I wanted to highlight a wine and cheese pairing of Fat Cat Pinot Noir and cheddar cheese.

Wine: Fat Cat
Variety: 100% Pinot Noir

Region: California
Country: United States
Year: -

The wine was really good for a strong red. It had some tannins, but it was not unpleasantly so. The nose brought lots of jammy berry flavors, while the taste was smooth with strawberry and raspberry notes. Really good, and the cheddar cheese complimented it quite well, as the fats in the cheese toned down the tannins and helped make the wine even more drinkable.






Entree: Fettuccine alfredo and Chardonnay
As with the appetizers, we had a few options, but for the blog I'll discuss our pairing of Chateau Ste. Michelle Chardonnay with some great pasta.

Wine: Cheateau Ste. Michelle
Variety: 100% Chardonnay

Region: Columbia Valley
Country: United States
Year: 2011

This wine had oak, but it wasn't overpowering. Light fruit flavors came through on this really smooth, slightly buttery wine. Paired with the pasta, the very slight butter notes really complimented the creaminess of the sauce. I thought this was a great pairing, and would love to try this wine with some other entrees, as it seemed to be quite compatible with a lot of foods.

 Dessert: Vanilla cupcakes and Peach wine

Cupcakes were a perfect end to a great night. The ones we had were vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, complete with Funfetti sprinkles (of course!!). They were paired with a peach wine from Peaks of Otter.

Wine: Peaks of Otter Winery
Variety: 100% Peach Wine


Region: Virginia
Country: United States
Year: -

The wine was light, with some acidity which somewhat counter-balanced the sweetness of the cupcakes. I don't usually like acidity, but it worked well in this pairing. The wine of course had some great, subtle hints of peach along with some other citrus flavors. Not a favorite as it wasn't as sweet as I had thought it would be, but it was did pair well with the sweetness of the cupcakes.

Had a great time with some great friends, food, and wine!