Wine Dinner With the Roommate - Wine Dinner Blog #3

 

For the last dinner of the semester, my roommate and I decided to make a three-course meal on a budget, especially after our third round of exams before finals. She found a recipe for less than $20 and I got the other foods from Westend, a dining hall on campus, as I had dining dollars to use. We went back and forth on which wines we should have and we finally decided on Nebbiolo, Barbera, and Strawberry Moscato. 

For the first course of the night, we had a 12oz Ribeye steak paired with a $21, Anzivino Gattinara Nebbiolo. The steak was marinated with lemongrass, garlic, and an herb blend and cooked to medium-well consistency. The flavor of the steak was impeccable. I have never had a steak this good. The wine on its own has very good flavors of plum, cherry, black currant, oak, spice, and vanilla. By itself, the wine is very high in acid and tannins. When paired with the steak, the acidity was lowered but not like the tannins. The tannins were lowered to a point where the wine paired well with the steak. The acidity of the wine was still too high for my liking but overall it was paired very well together. If I were to do this again I would pair the steak with a different wine with less acidity. 

For the second course of the night, we had Fench Onion Pasta with two different kinds of cheese grated on top paired with a $10, 2019 Piedmont Bricco del Tati Barbera. The pasta alone was very delicious. The flavors of the French onion soup paired well with the cheese grated on top. The pasta itself was semi-sweet but not overpowering. The Barbera alone was tasty as well. This one was also high in acidity and tannins but it did pair well with the onion flavor in the pasta and brought down the sweetness of the pasta too. I got notes of red plum, black cherry, oak, vanilla, and spice. When paired with the pasta the flavors of the wine and the dish married well and brought out other flavors of cranberry and blueberry. While this wine was too acidic for me, I would definitely serve this at a dinner party with another savory dish. 

For the third and last course of the night, we had French Silk Pie paired with Baybridge Strawberry Moscato. I have never had French silk pie before so I had no clue what it would taste like. I was pleasantly surprised when it is a mousse-like pie that is light and refreshing for dessert. The Baybridge Strawberry Moscato was my favorite wine of the night. It was sweet, and jammy, with flavors of strawberry, citrus, honeysuckle, rose, and vanilla. When paired together, they initially were just okay. The flavors of the two married but not how you would expect them to. It was like they are best friends that can be enjoyed together or separately! There was no diminishing of flavor or other flavors brought out when paired together. I would definitely pair these too again as they make for a great light dessert!! 

Overall, this was the best dinner I have had in a while! While I haven't tried all of the Baybridge wines, I can say you get the most bang for your buck with this wine averaging $3 at your local Kroger. I know I prefer sweet wines like Moscato over more dry wines like Chardonnay. However, I will say that my palate has opened since tasting the wines and I do enjoy wines with a little more tannins but not too much.