Wine and Dinner at Wine Lab! April 14th, 2023!
Charles, Professor John Boyer, and I, after completing our assignment!
To complete our Wine and Dinner Blogs, my friend Charles and I decided to invite some friends out to Wine Lab with us this past Friday! Our friend, Shreya, just had a birthday so it was a great chance to celebrate that as well! We were also joined by our friends Chris, Hayden, and Alex! We got to sit outside, eat some great food with some delicious wines, and spend some quality time together! We also took a lot of fun pictures. The cherry on top was when our friend Hayden, who is not even in this course, spotted the Plaid Avenger himself walking past our table, and called him out! We had a nice conversation and went inside the restaurant to take a picture with him in front of the wine wall!
We started the night out by looking through the menu and the wine list, and tried to formulate some good pairings. Unfortunately, we were unable to get pictures of the bottles/original labels, but we do have the information provided by Wine Lab!
Now to our pairings!
Pairing 1 - Zorzettig Sauvignon Blanc '20 with Sassy Oysters!
We decided to pair the Zorzettig Sauvignon Blanc '20, from Friuli, Italy, with the Sassy Oysters, from Prince Edward Island! This decision was made because we had read that white wines paired well with seafood and we wanted a medium-bodied, dry white to pair with the sharp and salty full-bodied taste of the oysters! The notes of lemon seemed promising as well.
We were very happy with this choice! The saltiness of the oysters did in fact pair well with the dry components of this wine, which was sharp too, but not too astringent. The oysters were delicious alone, but the combination of the oysters and this Sauvignon Blanc served as a palate enhancer. The lemon-y notes of the wine were definitely complemented and brought out by the addition of a lemon squeeze to the oysters. I also tried the oysters with the cocktail sauce followed by a sip of the wine and it was okay and unremarkable, but using lemon juice on the oysters was hands-down a perfect pairing to the wine. I will definitely experiment more with white wines and oysters next time I visit Wine Lab!
Pairing 2 - Stemmari Nero d'Avola '19 with Sweet & Spicy Brussels Sprouts!
We decided to pair the Stemmari Nero d'Avola '19, from Sicily, Italy, with the Sweet & Spicy Brussels Sprouts! In my opinion, a trip to Wine Lab is not complete without the Sweet & Spicy Brussels Sprouts! At this point, we had already decided to get the Paddlefish Caviar as our third food item, and thought that would pair best with a white wine, but still wanted a red wine as a pairing. We wanted a more robust wine to pair with the sweetness, spiciness, and meatiness of these Brussels sprouts, and liked the balanced description of this particular red wine. We had high hopes that this wine would be bold enough to match well with this bold dish!
This was also another choice we were happy with! This red was not too strong in any which way, and paired so nicely with the bacon and seasoning that were on the Brussels sprouts! The wine was deep, juicy, and even meaty, in a way that complemented the dish. The back and forth tasting enhanced the wine as well. There was a noticeable tannic component to the wine, but it did not seem excessive at all. It was complementary to the honey sweetness from the sauce on the Brussels sprouts. There was also a slight sweetness to the wine, that of which being honey-like or molasses-like, that came out in a tasteful amount when tasted with this dish.
Pairing 3 - Sassi Pinot Grigio NV with the Paddlefish Caviar!
We decided to pair the Sassi Pinot Grigio NV, from Puglia, Italy, with the Paddlefish Caviar! This decision was made keeping in mind that dry white wines would pair nicely with seafood. The delicate nature of caviar drove us toward this light-bodied and fruity wine, to pair with the salty-but-sweet freshness of the caviar, without the wine or the dish being too overpowering of the other.
We did not really know what to expect from this dish, but we were pleasantly surprised when it arrived with some jams/sauces, bread, mini pancakes, cornichons, and pepperoncinis! The body, dryness, and fruity flavors of the wine paired perfectly with the sweet caviar, and the flavors of the wine were highly enhanced with small additions of the jams! The dryness of this light-bodied wine served as a delicious palate cleanser, without overwhelming the caviar too heavily. The caviar tasted more and more fresh with the wine addition! The caviar did not overpower the wine either, as both carry lighter-bodied tastes, but the wine moreso than the caviar. The combination was, again, very fresh and refreshing, and was a nice dessert-y pairing!
I usually do not eat gluten, but these mini pancakes were too cute (and delicious) to turn down! I was also excited to see that pepperoncinis were incorporated into this dish, as I have been obsessed with them lately!
This was a very fun experience, and it was even more fun to share it with other friends! We all enjoyed the pairings and the quality time we were able to spend together, and our friends also branched out and tried new wines that they were curious about! We learned about the mixing and melding of different flavors and textures and were happy to have trusted our guts on the pairings! We know not every pairing will be a hit, but luckily our pairings this past Friday were all very pleasant! This is something we will definitely try again for fun!
