For this wine and dinner pairing, I tried out a few wines with a meal from one of my favorite places to eat in Blacksburg: Roots. I got the Mayweather bowl, composed of kale, bulgar, roasted sweet potatoes, red onions, goat cheese, avocado, and chicken. I chose an appetizer of gouda cheese and Ritz crackers and a dessert of Kinder chocolate shortbread cookies. The three wines I tasted were a Barefoot 2017 California Riesling, Cupcake Vineyards 2023 Monterey County Chardonnay, and Santa Margherita 2023 Pinot Grigio.
I started off my tasting with the Riesling. On its own, it was moderately sweet and I thought it tasted like peaches and pineapples. It is very light-bodied and smooth, with just a hint of acidity which I liked. With the cheese and crackers, I thought the fruitiness and acidity of the wine balanced out the creaminess of the cheese. The wine didn't change the flavor of the crackers, even slightly overpowering it so that I could really only taste the cheese and the wine. With the Roots bowl, I thought the wine really brought out the flavoring in the chicken, which I enjoyed. The texture of the lettuce was a little overpowering and made it difficult to figure out all the flavors on my palate. I liked the taste of the goat cheese in the bowl paired with the lightness and sweetness of the wine, making for a nice strong flavor. This was my favorite wine pairing with the Roots. The shortbread cookie brought out strong apple flavors in the wine, which tasted great with the chocolate. The acidity of the wine and the buttery cookie blended very well and made for a nice texture in my mouth. This was my favorite wine pairing with the cookies.
Next, I tried the Chardonnay. On its own, it had a nice medium-to-light body to it. I detected a hint of vanilla flavor and some citrus flavor on the aftertaste. It paired very nicely with the cheese and crackers, breaking up the denseness and creaminess of the cheese. No flavors were too overpowering and the wine toned down the saltiness of the cheese nicely. I thought this was a great pairing. I did not enjoy this wine very much with the Roots bowl. The flavors of the goat cheese and sweet potatoes did not blend well with the Chardonnay, resulting in them all canceling each other out. I ended up just getting a strong taste of the red onion, which I did not like. The wine was a bit too oaky and overpowering for the lightness of the salad. When I tried this Chardonnay with the shortbread cookie, the oakiness of the wine and the chocolate flavors clashed a little, making for an oddly bitter flavor. However, I think the shortbread part of the cookie paired very nicely with the wine, resulting in a smooth, rich buttery flavor.
Finally, I tried the Pinot Grigio. On its own, it was very dry and acidic with a lighter body and mouthfeel. I tasted crisp peach and citrus flavors as well. With the cheese and crackers, I thought the light, airy quality of the wine paired well with the strong nutty flavors in the cheese. It did not necessarily diminish the creaminess of the cheese, which I liked because it made for a great overall contrast in flavors. I was still getting a bit of that creamy, nutty flavor from the cheese in the aftertaste. This was my favorite wine pairing with the cheese and crackers. When I tried this wine with the Roots bowl, I thought all the flavors didn't really blend with each other. Neither the wine nor the food overpowered each other or brought out any flavors, so it wasn't a very interesting pairing. Lastly, when I tried this wine with the shortbread cookies, I thought the acidity of the wine clashed with the crunchy texture of the cookie, making for a bit of an odd mouthfeel. However, the chocolate flavor actually paired very nicely with the citrus flavors in the wine. It even made the chocolate taste more bitter, which was interesting.
This tasting was a fun experience because I was trying out 3 completely new wines and some new foods, with a Roots bowl and cookies I had never tried before. I would have to say my favorite pairing overall was the Riesling with the chocolate shortbread cookies. The blend of these made for such great flavors and textures in my mouth that I wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I have really enjoyed doing wine and dinner pairings this semester, as I've been able to not only continue finding out what my favorite wines are but also understand the totally different experiences you get when pairing them with food.
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