Dinner - Potluck

My Friends and I at the Start of the Night

It was on a Thursday night that a group of friends and I decided to do, what was pretty much a potluck but with a little organization. We brought together a good bit of food and wine with some coordination on what would pair well together. We then proceeded to start off the night with a Prosecco along with some roasted vegetables. 

The Cool Bottle of the Villa Jolanda Prosecco

Wine 1: Villa Jolanda Prosecco Extra Sec

Variety: Glera

Region of Origin: Northern Italy 

Country of Origin: Italy

Vintage Year: Not Listed

Price: ~$17

The wine smells quite floral and "bright" though apart from that nothing else could be picked out. On first taste, the wine was dry, floral, and a little spicy probably due to the CO2. It was still nonetheless quite refreshing especially after cooking for the dinner. It was paired with a small appetizer that I made of roasted vegetables.

The Roasted Veggies Start Dish I Made

This may be a little biased because I made the first dish but it was my favorite pairing of the night. The veggies were roasted and seasoned simply with salt & pepper along with some garlic powder plus a little lemon juice towards the end for a little zing. The two paired well with food due to the bitter taste of roasted veggies, helping mellow it out and helping make it lighter. They also kept well with the other parts of the veggie's sweetness with it not being overpowering and complimented well with acidity. The food made the wine much more light and floral by cutting down the acidity. This was an amazing combination and I would do this again but maybe with a different set of veggies.

The First Course has Been Served!

Moving on to the main course, a friend made butter chicken curry which was quite spicy, and this was paired with a rosè.

Bottle of Fabre en Provence Côtes de Provence Rosè

Wine 2: Fabre en Provence Côtes de Provence Rosè

Variety: Grenache

Region of Origin: Côtes de Provence

Country of Origin: France

Vintage Year: Not Listed

Price: ~$17

The wine smells fruity similar to a pear and a little floral. The wine tastes a little dry with citrus flavor that I would relate to limes. I would say that the floral aspects were there also and overall it was decently balanced with a light-to-medium body. It was paired with a spicy butter chicken and rice.

The Second Course of Butter Chicken and Rice

It paired ok with the food as it enhanced the spicyness, which I didn't really enjoy. It did bring out the butter chicken's other spices a little which was nice contrast to the spicyness. At least the butter chicken and its spicyness did help bring out the floral flavors of the wine after mellowing it out. It did help bring out the flavors of both but I wasn't a big fan of it enhancing the spiciness of the butter chicken. It was ok but it would be interesting to try it with other foods that are not as spicy or try the butter chicken with a sweeter wine like a white wine.

Having Some Food and Fun with Friends

Finally on to the well anticipated dessert, a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing made by another friend. This was paired with a sweet red wine that is really close to a dessert wine but isn't exactly one.

Bottle of Peter Mertes Platinum Dornfelder

Wine 3: Peter Mertes Platinum Dornfelder Sweet Red

Variety: Dornfelder

Region of Origin: Rheinhessen

Country of Origin: Germany

Vintage Year: 2019

Price: ~$20

It smells like honey and very fruity like some red fruit. It tasted quite sweet but a little dry still which is a nice balance. It also had fruity tastes with hints of cherry and strawberry, which I liked a lot. It is much more heavy body compared to the other which was a nice contrast.

The Delicious Red Velvet Cake

They paired quite well together as they both bring the best out of each other. It helps

enchance the taste of the red velvet as it brings out sourness within the cake to help balance out the sweetness of the cake and the cake helps bring out the fruityness of the wine. They both suprisingly paired well with each other and helped to work with each other. They were not too sweet for each other and was nice. It was quite unexpected but following advice from the lecture, we tried it out and was surpised and enjoyed it.

The Final Course and Close to the Night

This dinner was a lot of fun along with quite educational. It helped open my eyes to the endless possibilities when pairing wines with foods as this is the first time I've done that with any meal. I would love to try this again especially with other friends and it was great experience overall.