This past Wednesday, my boyfriend Josh and I went to 622 North in Blacksburg, Virginia for a belated Valentine's Day dinner. I took this opportunity to try my first food and wine pairings. Our waitress knew which wines to recommend with each dish like the back of her hand. She also suggested a "half flight" special that included four wines in half the usual "by the glass" portion, which was perfect for the assignment (3 for me, 1 for him!). Needless to say, we did the half flight special and followed every one of her recommendations, to great results.
 |
| Josh and I at 622 North for a belated Valentine's Day dinner. |
For the appetizer, we had Spinach Artichoke Dip with tortilla chips. This was one of the most delicious spinach and artichoke dips I've ever had. It was the perfect amount of creaminess and flavor and the tortilla chips complimented it perfectly--thick-cut and lightly salted so as not to overtake the flavor of the dip. For my entrée, I had medium-rare Atlantic Salmon with sugared almond pieces and a cranberry sauce. The salmon was flaky with more a subtle salmon taste and the sugared almond pieces were a sweet, crunchy accent to it. I wasn't as big of a fan of the cranberry sauce that it was doused in because it was sweet to the point of tasting like cranberry jam. To top off the meal, we had New York Cheesecake with chocolate sauce and raspberries for dessert. It was just the right temperature, texture with a soft sweetness that comes with New York cheesecake. The tasty raspberries and chocolate sauce made it even more delicious, although I would have been perfectly happy eating it by itself.
For this assignment, the waitress helped me match three wines to match with each of the three courses. I then mixed it up and tried each wine with every course. The results were quite eye-opening!
2013 Barone Fini Pinot Grigio
 |
| Baron Fini Pinot Grigio image from http://goo.gl/DJIKOV. |
The first wine of the night was a 2013 Barone Fini Pinot Grigio from Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy. This white wine is 100% pinot grigio. The wine smelled fresh, with a light floral and fruity scent. It had a slight bite to it and finished dry. In my opinion, it was a very well balanced wine, with a pleasant bouquet, medium body and a tongue right between sweet and dry. It was the only half flight glass I could finish by itself.
The wine was paired with the Spinach Artichoke Dip appetizer. With the dip, I didn't think the wine tasted any different. If anything, the acidity was brought out just a touch more. It was a very nice companion to the dip however, a refreshing finish to wash down the creamy artichoke.
 |
| Spinach Artichoke Dip with tortilla chips paired with 2013 Barone Fini Pinot Grigio. |
When I tried the pinot grigio with the salmon, not only did the salmon's flavor intensify, but the salmon brought out the sweetness and floral taste of the pinot grigio. This caused the two to clash. With the cheescake, the acidity was brought out and clashed with the sweetness of the cheescake. However, I did enjoy the freshness and lighter feel of the pinot grigio paired with the creamy cheescake.
2010 Paraiso Pinot Noir
 |
| Paraiso Vineyards Pinot Noir image from http://goo.gl/x4QyWn. |
The second wine of the night was a 2010 Paraiso Vineyards Pinot Noir from Santa Lucia Highlands, California. This red wine is 100% pinot noir. It smelled intensely of dark berries and alcohol. On the tongue, it was like velvet in its smoothness. It was the perfect balance between dry and sweet and also had a smooth finish. I couldn't taste much of the flavors that I smelled.
Now, this is where it gets interesting. This wine was paired with my salmon. With the salmon, all of a sudden all the flavors that I smelled but couldn't taste before were brought out in the wine! Wow! The tongue was brought out a lot stronger, specifically the alcohol and dark berry essence.
 |
| Medium-rare Atlantic Salmon paired with 2010 Paraiso Pinot Noir. |
With the dip, the artichoke also brought out intense alcohol and dark berry flavors, but because they were both rich in flavor they clashed. When I tried it with the cheesecake, a bitterness came out that hid the flavor of the cheesecake and did not taste good.
Taylor Fladgate Fine Ruby Port (Non-Vintage)
 |
| Taylor Fladgate Fine Ruby Port (Non-Vintage). |
The third and last wine of the night was a non-vintage Taylor Fladgate Fine Ruby Port from Portugal. Non-vintage means it does not age well and immediately ready for consumption without decanting. This port is made of a red wine blend. I could barely discern a berry smell through the intense alcohol nose. It tastes extremely sweet with a surprisingly light body.
The port was paired with the cheesecake. I thought the sweetness of the port was even more overwhelming with the cheesecake so I wouldn't have them together in the future.
 |
| New York Cheesecake paired with Taylor Fladgate Fine Ruby Port. |
When I tried the port with the salmon, the sweetness of the cranberry sauce and the sweetness of the port actually balanced each other out and complimented each other. As for the dip, the artichoke taste was brought out but the richness of the dip and the sweetness of the port clashed.
Thoughts
Overall, I enjoyed eating the food with wine that paired well with them. My favorite overall was the pinot grigio paired with the dip. However, for me, there were too many varieties of wine for my stomach to handle in one meal. In the future, I would have wine with as much as the appetizer and entrée but probably not with dessert as I usually enjoy the sweetness of the dessert in itself. I would be perfectly happy with just one wine a meal and up to two.
.JPG)
.JPG)
