Wine Dinner at Biaggi's

So, as a Biaggi Club member we get notices about events that aren't as widely broadcasted including their July Wine Dinner on a recent Friday evening. Six courses - six wines for $65 a person (that is a deal around here). The evening happened to coincide with a visit from Vikki's mom and procrastinators that we are we made this event her Mother's day outing. This turned out to be a huge treat for her as she had never attended any type of wine and food pairing event before, except of course having enjoyed many food and wine meals designed and hosted by the two of us.

All in all it was a wonderful evening, the food was very good and we enjoyed most of the wines. The only possible let down was that the room was very noisy and they should have provided the host a microphone because it was nearly impossible to hear him from our side of the room. However, that may not have been such a down side considering he seemed very long winded at times and when you cannot hear you do not worry so much about having your own conversation versus politely listening!

Six courses and wines as follows:

Antipasto Freddo - Roasted Pepper Bruschetta served with Zardetto Prosecco Brut.

This was a wonderful start for both wine and food. The prosecco had a very crisp, tart-apple flavor and was very dry. The bruschetta was a medley of roasted peppers served with a fantastic basil oil and Parmesan shavings. This course was an A+ for both wine and food.

Antipasto Caldo - Grilled Shrimp & Asparagus served with Falesco Vitiano Rose'

The dish consisted of grilled shrimp and asparagus drizzled with truffle vinaigrette. Asparagus at a wine tasting is a huge risk as it is one food for which there really is no good wine match. The wine is reportedly a red drinkers rose' (30% sangiovese, 30% merlot, 30% cabernet sauvignon, and 10% aleatico). It was very light with some berry notes but not sweet like white rose'. There were mixed reviews on this course overall. It was hard for Brad to get past the pink color of the wine and truthfully on its own the wine was not very good but he agreed it paired well with just the shrimp. Brad thought the dish was very good but did not care for the wine with the asparagus even when paired with the shrimp. Vikki thought that the shrimp were a bit over done but actually enjoyed the wine with the shrimp and asparagus when the two were in one bite. Trying the wine with just the asparagus was off-putting but when combined with a bite of shrimp and truffle oil it seemed to work (in Vikki's opinion). Food received an A from both and wine a B but only when paired with shrimp.

Primo - Il Tributo Di Maiali (Tribute to Pork) served with La Carraia Sangiovese

Penne pasta tossed with pancetta, prosciutto, bacon, escarole, spinach and scallion Parmesan cream sauce. We have to take a moment to discuss this dish. This dish was the star of the meal. It was a huge hit with everyone and when the manager came to talk with us we inquired as to whether it was on the regular menu. It currently is not but after hearing similar comments from multiple tables the manager came back and asked us to fill out a postcard which he could forward to corporate to request that the dish be added to the menu. And for your information, this is one of the dishes for which they were so generous we requested take out boxes for leftovers and it reheated beautifully. Now the wine, anyone who knows us knows that we currently are huge fans of sangiovese and this one did not disappoint. The description in our wine tasting guide did not do the wine justice using terms such as syrupy, unabsorbed carbon dioxide, green pepper, sappy. Truly, the person who wrote such a description does not intend to sell the wine based on these words. We would describe the wine as a solid sangiovese that was somewhat smokey with a long finish. Sangiovese is a wine meant for food so on its own it was fine but when paired with the pasta dish it was wonderful. A+ to food and wine.

Pesce - Citrus Seared Grouper served with Maculan Pino & Toi

Seared grouper served over lemon roasted potatoes and a citrus relish. This was hit and miss for the table. Brad received a nicely cooked piece of grouper and enjoyed it. Vikki's grouper was a tad oily and had a stronger fish taste which was not appealing. The wine, being a white, was not a favorite for us mainly red wine drinkers. It was very tart and reminded of pinot grigio in flavor and mouth feel (60% tocai, 25% pinot bianco, and 15% pinot grigio). It did go well with the citrus aspects of the dish. Brad would give the meal and wine a higher rating based on his portion being better prepared. A-/B for food and B+ for wine.

Secondo - Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin served with Allegrini La Grola

Herb and garlic roasted pork over scallion potatoes and garlic demi-glace. Another mixed review. Brad loved the pork but is not as sensitive to salt as Vikki, who felt that the pork was significantly over seasoned. The wine (80% corvina and 20% syrah)needed to breath. Very solid, good wine with tobacco and coffee essences. It did go nicely with the pork. Brad gives the food a higher rating A/B and the wine rated A for both.

Dolce - Zabaglione served with Coppo Moscato d'Asti

Honey glazed strawberries and peaches topped with zabaglione (custard). RICH! The wine carried notes of fruit and was typical of moscato meaning pleasantly sweet for dessert. Brad is not a fan of dessert wine and Vikki is not a fan of dessert therefore the trade of food for wine was quite agreeable for both. Brad gives the food an A and Vikki gives the wine an A.

The outcome tells the favorites as we came home with a bottle of the prosecco, 2 sangiovese and 2 of the allegrini la grola.

The Beginning

While watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations a comment made struck a cord with us. The comment was about how it is a very French tendency to discuss food while eating food. And it occurred to us, that while we are not French; we do enjoy discussing and planning our next meal while in the very process of consuming our current meal. We enjoy taking the time to make notes about each and every wine when we visit wineries. We enjoy keeping a travel diary of sorts listing the restaurants we visit and what we had and whether it was worth the money. We have done this long enough now that friends and family often ask us for advice on places to eat when they travel to places we have been. So after several beers one night we decided it would be great fun to start a food blog to share our opinions, likes, dislikes, etc. We are not food critics. But we consider ourselves to be qualified for this endeavor if only from the fact that we each have a plate at the Flying Saucer (well, Vikki's is almost done and Brad is on his third time around). Plus Vikki has been to over 67 cities in 11 countries with Brad tagging along on domestic adventures. We are two people that enjoy travel, eating, drinking, and talking. So read along to tag along with us on our Epicurean Adventures! And Brad will throw in some golf course wisdom (at least about courses) along the way.