Intro
A couple friends and I decided to do a wine dinner with three courses this past Friday. We started with a bruschetta as an appetizer. Our main course was shrimp scampi. Which was then followed by blueberry blondies for dessert. For our wines we went to the Vintage Cellar. We asked for recommendations based on the dishes we are preparing.
Appetizer - Bruschetta and Zinfandel Conte Di Campiano Riserva 2018
We started with a zinfandel to pair with the bruschetta. On its own the wine was amazing. The nose was very fruity and dark. The taste had had hints of spice and smoke but it was mostly fruit forward and extremely jammy. The bruschetta was prepared with fresh mozarella and diced tomatoes served on toastsed italian bread and glazed with balsamic vinegar. When we paired the two together, the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar mellowed out the fruity tones of the wine, and the spicy and smoky notes grew stronger. Which paired nicely with the sweet tomatoes and earthy notes of the mozzarella
Main Course - Shrimp Scampi and Raza Vinho Verde
We were recommended the Portuguese Raza Vinho Verde to pair with the shrimp scampi. The nose was very apple forward. It was almost like artificial green apple, but more fresh and citrusy. The flavours also followed that theme with citrus and apple being the star. When the Raza was paired with the scampi it was like a match made in heaven. The crisp finish of the Raza was smoother likely due to the butter in the dish, and the acidity in both the wine and the scampi balanced each other out to make the flavours of both the wine and scampi become more pronounced.
Dessert - Blueberry Blondies and Birbet Taliano Michele
For our dessert course a birbet was recommended to us. The wine on its own was very sweet and fruity juice-like. The low ABV let the sweetness come through heavily. However, when it was paired with the blondie the sweetness of both canceled each other out and let the fruit come forward into the spotlight providing more tartness in both the blondie and birbet.
