Dinner - at Home with the Family!

I had a wine and food pairing dinner at my house with my parents, boyfriend Brad, my Aunt Carla, my Aunt Kelsie, and my Uncle one day over spring break. It was fairly easy to convince my family to join in since they never turn down a reason to try wine or food. My brother Chris, who is 20, just joined in for the meal. 

For our appetizer  I served a baked brie with a four fruit jam consisting of red currents, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries with the Opera Prima Pink Moscato. I thought this would work well since the moscato was semi-sweet and so was the brie.

Baked Brie and Pink Moscato Appetizer 

Me pouring wine for out appetizer

Opera Prima Pink Moscato Tasting Notes: This fine sparkling presents an intense aroma of fresh berries and tropical fruits with hints of white flavor petals. Delicate bubbles caress the palate offering a silky and pleasant sweetness well balanced by a crisp, refreshing finish. Ideal on its own, as an aperitif or with all types of sweets and desserts.

Opera Prima Pink Moscato

Carla (left) and Kelsie (right) enjoying their appetizer

The Opera Prima had a very sweet and fruity smell. I could detect the scent of grapefruit when I smelled it. It was not as sweet as it smelled which was a pleasant surprise. It had a delightful grapefruit flavor. When tasted with the brie, the moscato tasted drier than on its own. Everyone was pleased with how well the moscato and the brie paired together.

Stuffed Shells and Bucatini Red Blend

For dinner, we had spinach and turkey sausage stuffed shells with a salad. The stuffed shells had ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, spinach, diced tomatoes, diced rotel tomatoes (I ran out of regular tomatoes but it actually gave it a pretty good kick), garlic, and turkey sausage. I was torn between two reds to try so I decided to do both and see which one paired better. The two wines we had were the Gamela Malbec Reserva and the Bucatini Red Blend. We decided to try the Bucatini Red Blend first.

Bucatini Red Blend

Bucatini Red Blend Tasting Notes: An ideal companion to pasta or pizza. Bucatini's rich fruit, complex flavors, and peppery spice are a perfect match to pasta dishes, from Fettuccine Alfredo to Bucatini alla Carbonara. A pasta musta!

My parents enjoying their wine and dinner

I decided to pair the Bucatini with dinner since it was a wine made to go with pasta. The Bucatini had a cherry smell along with a rooty smell. It was a dark red color. It had a very peppery and cherry taste. The food really brought out the peppery taste in the wine. The fruity taste helped mask some of the spice from the rotel tomatoes. Overall it paired well with the stuffed shells. 

Gamela Malbec Reserva Tasting Notes: Bramble, leather, and cheese aromas crouwd out the wine's fruit notes, while black cherry and plum flavors are regular. Standard mouthfeel and mildly racy finish fail to elevate things.

Gamela Malbec Reserva

Jeff and Chris enjoying dinner

The Gamela Malbec Reserva had a very dark red color and a very rooty and slightly fruity smell. It had a fruity taste. The wine also had a very full body and was very smooth. It had a peppery finish. The food brought out even more of the fruity flavors. The food also brought out some more of the peppery flavors. It went very well with the stuffed shells.

Brad and I enjoying the wine and dinner

After trying both wines with dinner, we went around the table and said which wine we preferred with dinner. The Gamela Malbec Reserva was the overall favorite with the Bucatini Red Blend only receiving one vote which came from my dad.

For dessert, I served a chocolate banana soft serve with raspberries and the Sanctuary Vineyards Blackberry Wine. I thought this wine would go good with the dessert since chocolate and fruit always pair well together. The tasting notes for the blackberry wine were not on the Sanctuary Vineyards website and I was unable to located them anywhere else.

Blackberry Wine

Our Dessert

The blackberry wine had a super sweet smell. It was a fruity smell but also smelled a lot like raisins. It tasted exactly like blackberries with a hint of grape juice. It was very sweet. The chocolate banana soft serve dried out the wine. It also enhanced the blackberry flavor which went really well with the chocolate. This wine paired really well with the dessert.

My parents and I enjoying our blackberry wine

All of the food paired really well with the wines. It was neat to see how much food can change the wine tastes. It was a very good learning experience. I look forward to exploring more wine and food pairings in the future!

My dad and his two sisters and his wine hat!