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sidOkay, the wine tasting event was last Thursday, but better late than never, right?
My sister-in-law and I sometimes attend Indy Vinos wine tasting events. These are typically crowded and noisy, with half a dozen wines to taste, and usually some snacks available. It's mainly a social event, which is fine, but we don't learn anything about the wines. It's for singles, couples, all ages. Only $15 bucks for unlimited sampling. This past Thursday they held a special event, with a limited number of reserved spots available, and the cost was $40.
We went, and my brother went along. We were all expecting a sit-down dinner, but actually this plan was more practical, and quite fun. There were 5 different stations, each one offering a different food and wine pairing. It allowed you to go at your own pace, and skip anything that didn't appeal. Everything was fabulous! (This sounds like a ton of food and wine, but the portions were quite small, and the wine glasses were nowhere near full.)
My sister-in-law and I sometimes attend Indy Vinos wine tasting events. These are typically crowded and noisy, with half a dozen wines to taste, and usually some snacks available. It's mainly a social event, which is fine, but we don't learn anything about the wines. It's for singles, couples, all ages. Only $15 bucks for unlimited sampling. This past Thursday they held a special event, with a limited number of reserved spots available, and the cost was $40.
We went, and my brother went along. We were all expecting a sit-down dinner, but actually this plan was more practical, and quite fun. There were 5 different stations, each one offering a different food and wine pairing. It allowed you to go at your own pace, and skip anything that didn't appeal. Everything was fabulous! (This sounds like a ton of food and wine, but the portions were quite small, and the wine glasses were nowhere near full.)
Station #!
Folonari Brio Proseca (white sparkling wine - the Italian champagne) with Bruschetta Caprese (bread covered with olive oil, diced tomato, etc.)
Station #2
Masianco Pinot Grigio (white wine, very light and food friendly, and also good for just sipping) with Shrimp Scampi (jumbo shrimp with fettucini noodles and luscious, but fairly light sauce)
Station #3
Di Majo Norante Sangiovese (red wine, same grape as in Chianti) with Pollo Marsala (chicken with marsala wine and mushrooms)
Station #4
Allegrini Pallazzo Della Torre (red blend, very smooth and rich) with Baby Lamb Chops in Rosemary Chianti sauce (these are the size of lamb chops that resemble lollipops - you can just hold them by the bone and nibble away)
Station #5
Moscato d'Asti (white slightly sparkling dessert wine) with Strawberry Mousse in Chocolate Cup (nnngh. Indescribably good. I had seconds.)
I really, really enjoyed this. The person pouring at each station discussed the wine, and the reason for pairing it with the food item. For example, with chicken you may think 'white wine', but when pairing wine with any food in a sauce, you are really pairing with the sauce.
Both numbers 3 and 5 were excellent examples of how the food affects the wine. The Sangiovese was quite dry and tannic tasting, until tasted along with the chicken. Then it just blossomed! And the Moscato, which was quite delicious by itself, actually tasted like strawberries when paired with the dessert. As I mentioned, I verified this by having seconds. :-)
The restaurant was selling bottles of the selections at a deep discount, and I brought home one bottle each of the two sparklers. For $21 bucks total, a real steal. And I won a door prize of the Sangiovese!!
The only bad thing was that they didn't get the fifty people that they wanted, and they didn't get the walk-ins that they had hoped for. So, I am not entirely sure if they will ever repeat this sort of thing. The casual wine drinkers who attend functions mainly to socialize probably didn't want to shell out the $40 bucks. But, I think it was worth the money, and we had no problem getting seconds on food and wine.
The wine tasting was sandwiched between two beer tastings, for me and my brother. We went to the Great Lakes Brewfest on Saturday the 16th, which was held in our home town (Racine, WI), and featured about 70 different brewers, each offering at least 3 or 4 selections. Five hours was NOT enough TIME! I only tasted one beer that was disappointing enough to dump, everything else was at least drinkable, and much of it was wonderful.
And tonight we went with our little weekly tasting group on a road trip to an area brew pub (Barley Island, in Noblesville IN) to sample their on tap selections. Wheat, Belgian Wit, Scotch Ale, Brown Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Java Stout, Pale Ale, and India Pale Ale.
Next Monday: Oktoberfest brews. :-)
Folonari Brio Proseca (white sparkling wine - the Italian champagne) with Bruschetta Caprese (bread covered with olive oil, diced tomato, etc.)
Station #2
Masianco Pinot Grigio (white wine, very light and food friendly, and also good for just sipping) with Shrimp Scampi (jumbo shrimp with fettucini noodles and luscious, but fairly light sauce)
Station #3
Di Majo Norante Sangiovese (red wine, same grape as in Chianti) with Pollo Marsala (chicken with marsala wine and mushrooms)
Station #4
Allegrini Pallazzo Della Torre (red blend, very smooth and rich) with Baby Lamb Chops in Rosemary Chianti sauce (these are the size of lamb chops that resemble lollipops - you can just hold them by the bone and nibble away)
Station #5
Moscato d'Asti (white slightly sparkling dessert wine) with Strawberry Mousse in Chocolate Cup (nnngh. Indescribably good. I had seconds.)
I really, really enjoyed this. The person pouring at each station discussed the wine, and the reason for pairing it with the food item. For example, with chicken you may think 'white wine', but when pairing wine with any food in a sauce, you are really pairing with the sauce.
Both numbers 3 and 5 were excellent examples of how the food affects the wine. The Sangiovese was quite dry and tannic tasting, until tasted along with the chicken. Then it just blossomed! And the Moscato, which was quite delicious by itself, actually tasted like strawberries when paired with the dessert. As I mentioned, I verified this by having seconds. :-)
The restaurant was selling bottles of the selections at a deep discount, and I brought home one bottle each of the two sparklers. For $21 bucks total, a real steal. And I won a door prize of the Sangiovese!!
The only bad thing was that they didn't get the fifty people that they wanted, and they didn't get the walk-ins that they had hoped for. So, I am not entirely sure if they will ever repeat this sort of thing. The casual wine drinkers who attend functions mainly to socialize probably didn't want to shell out the $40 bucks. But, I think it was worth the money, and we had no problem getting seconds on food and wine.
The wine tasting was sandwiched between two beer tastings, for me and my brother. We went to the Great Lakes Brewfest on Saturday the 16th, which was held in our home town (Racine, WI), and featured about 70 different brewers, each offering at least 3 or 4 selections. Five hours was NOT enough TIME! I only tasted one beer that was disappointing enough to dump, everything else was at least drinkable, and much of it was wonderful.
And tonight we went with our little weekly tasting group on a road trip to an area brew pub (Barley Island, in Noblesville IN) to sample their on tap selections. Wheat, Belgian Wit, Scotch Ale, Brown Ale, Oatmeal Stout, Java Stout, Pale Ale, and India Pale Ale.
Next Monday: Oktoberfest brews. :-)
