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| Monticello A.V.A. Map |
Our
second attempt at Palisades was a lot more successful! We quickly found the restaurant, and we were
ready for another delicious dinner! I
love Virginia wines, so I was excited to try them again after having learned so
much about tasting. I had never had any
of the foods before, so I was eager to see how they tasted alone and with each
of the wines.
The
wines were specifically from the Monticello A.V.A. According to the sheet given to us before
dinner, the most popular grapes grown in Virginia since 200 are Chardonnay, Cabernet
Sauvignon, Viognier and Cabernet Franc. As
of 2011, there were 192 wineries in Virginia (an increase from 163 in 2009).
The
wines are as follows: Jefferson Vineyards Chardonnay 2010 (left), Lovingston
Merlot 2007 (middle), and White Hall Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 (right).
The
foods are as follows: Beef Potato Goat Cheese Roulade, Spoon Bread, and Collard
Greens.
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| The delicious food and wines! |
Once
we received our food and wine, I tasted each wine alone and with each
food. I concluded that the wines were
organized in a way that it went best with the food directly in front of it.
First
was the Jefferson Vineyards Chardonnay 2010.
It was a nice golden color with crisp pear aromas. Upon tasting it, it was tart, acidic, and
slightly hot with pear flavors. I’m not
a huge fan of Chardonnays, so I was not expecting much from it. I was pleasantly surprised with how the
flavors changed while paring it with the Roulade. It tasted much sweeter, more in balance, and
many fruit flavors were brought out.
Now, I will be more willing to try Chardonnay with different foods! On the other hand, the spoon bread seemed
overpower the flavors of the Chardonnay.
With the collard greens, I originally thought it was the wine that tasted
vegetal, but it was the aftertaste of the greens that made everything taste vegetal,
spicy, and like fish food. Overall, the
beef and Chardonnay was a fantastic pairing!
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| Jefferson Vineyards Chardonnay 2010 |
Second
up was the Lovingston Merlot 2007, and it is dark ruby in color. It had an unknown smell, and if acidic can be
considered an aroma, that’s how I would describe it. Overall, it was just off. It had some tart dark cherry flavors, heavy
tannins, and was dry. It had a cleaning
solution finish. Something was wrong
with the particular wine, and I don’t know if something happened to the bottle,
or something when wrong in the winemaking process. With the beef, it was oaky, and somehow drier
than it was alone. With the spoon bread,
the cleaning solution taste was toned down, and the cherry and oaky flavors
were brought out. With the greens, it
was oaky and dry, but again the flavor of the greens overpowered the wine.
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| Lovingston Merlot 2007 |
Last,
but not least, was the White Hall Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2010, and this
wine was also dark ruby in color. It had
nice dark fruit and cherry aromas. It had
lovely cherry flavors. Overall, the wine
had a great balance between sweetness and dryness, and the whole wine was very
well-produced. With the beef, more dark
fruit flavors were brought out. The spoon
bread slightly toned down the cherry flavors. With the collard greens, more
cheery flavors were brought out had a dry finish.
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| White Hall Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 |
Once
again, Palisades didn’t disappoint, and neither did Virginia! I would highly recommend attending a Wines of
the World dinner, or even just to have dinner.
I’m sure they would love to recommend a wine with any of their menu
items. In a few weeks, we will be
attending the Pinot Noir dinner, so I am hoping to have 3 fantastic red wines!
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| Me and Rachel |
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| Me and Jane |
