Second Wine Dinner at Biaggi's

We recently attended Biaggi's second wine dinner along with Dad and Linda.  Things were slightly better organized this time around at least from the standpoint that they did not seat anyone at the tables that bordered the rest of the main dinning room.  The four of us were at a table with another couple who were very nice dinning companions throughout the experience.

Once again it was a multi-course meal paired to go with select wines (6 courses, 7 wines, $65 inclusive of tax and tip).  The supplier was the same wine distributor as the last wine dinner.



"what remains at the end of a wine dinner is a lot of glasses to clean"


Antipasto Caldo - Creamy Butternut Cappuccino paired with Tiefenbrunner Pinot Grigio

Butternut squash soup with cinnamon ginger creme served to look like a cappuccino was the hit of the night in terms of food.  It was absolutely one of the most delicious things I have ever consumed.  Well balanced so it was not too sweet.  The wine made from 100% pinot grigio grapes, was light, crisp with a subtle minerality that balanced the sweetness of the soup and was an excellent pairing.  Several at the table commented that the wine tasted similar to a riesling and as it turns out this wine is from the very northern portion of Italy which borders Austria and therefore is indeed very similar to German riesling.

Insalata - Field Greens with Warm Pumpkin Vinaigrette, Sweet and Savory Grissini with Allegrini Soave

Mescalin greens tossed in the warm pumpkin vinaigrette with date and fontina wrapped in phyllo dough to form the grissini.  The phyllo dough with cheese and date was yummy and I could have ate a plate of just that.  The salad was very nice and the pumpkin vinaigrette was very good.  The wine is a blend of 80% garganega and 20% chardonnay and definitely had the mouth feel of chardonnay.  The fact that it is not aged in oak gave it a light mineral quality.  It was not a favorite for most at the table.

Primo - Homemade Roman Gnocchi with Pancetta Alfredo with Tasca Regaliali Rosato

Sweet potato gnocchi with pancetta alfredo was one dish I was really looking forward to and then nothing like what I expected.  Large Roman style gnocchi is basically polenta disks.  But it was very good and very filling.  The wine is 100% nerello mascalese and was blush in color with subtle fizziness.  I did not pick up on any of the reported berry flavors.  It was not a favorite and Brad did not even drink his glass.  It was better with the food which might be a case of a very good dish making a not very good wine tolerable.

Pesce - Halibut Finocchi with Argiolas Vermentino

Broiled halibut with braised fennel, porcini mushroom and baby carrot in a light broth was very nice.  However, as the fish course was being served there was an overwhelming fish odor throughout the room.  Thankfully, the portions for myself and those sitting near me at our table did not have a strong fish aroma.  I was not sure if I had ever had halibut and was pleasantly surprised by it.  The broth was a good balance for the broiled fish which was on the edge of being a tad dry.  The wine is 90% vermentio and 10% Sardubuab grapes.  It had a nice subtle honey and citrus flavor and was light and crisp and paired very nicely with the fish.  This wine is reported to be a nice choice for various seafood and Asian dishes including being recommended to consume with sushi.

Secondo - Basil Crouton Crusted Lamb Chops with both Allegrini Pallazzo della Torre and Leone Salice Salentino

Basil crouton crusted lamb chops with truffle mashed potatoes and red wine reduction.  This was some of the best lamb I have had in a long time and the seasoned crust was a nice change compared to typical herbed pairings with lamb.  However, we were all so very full by this point that we barely ate this dish!  Last time we managed to box part of the earlier courses in order to save room till the end but this time most of the courses were not the type that would travel and reheat well so we ate them all.  The positive thing is that lamb chops and mashed potatoes travel and reheat very nicely and we ended up with ours and a few others leftovers from the table.  The Allegrini Pallazzo della Torre is 70% corvina veronese, 25% rondinella and 5% sangiovese.  This wine is quite unusual as 30% of the grapes are left on the vine to dry into raisins before converting into juice so the wine has a strong raisin flavor to it which I did not care for.  It was a little better with the food but I opted to pass my glass on to Dad who did enjoy this wine.  The Leone Salice Salentino was the preferred red of the two for this dish for most at the table.  It is 90% negroamaro and 10% malvasia nera and has a nice smokey, spicy vanilla character.  It was good as a stand alone wine and also paired well with the lamb.

Dolce - Panna Cotta with Coppo Brachetto d'Aqui

Panna cotta with fig compote and orange granite was not the kind of dessert I personally like.  The combination of flavors was a bit strange with the fig on the bottom, panna cotta in the middle and orange on top.  The orange granite was wonderful and that is all I ate of the dish but then I am not a fan of panna cotta.  The wine is the first red chilled dessert wine I have tried and is 100% brachetto from Acqui.  It has a beautiful red color, nice light fizz, was not too sweet and went well with the portion of the dessert I did consume.  This is the only wine we purchased for the whole evening. If we were not being conservative with funds we would have also bought the Argiolas Vermentino and the Leone Salice Salentino.

NC Brewery: Outer Banks Brewing Station

This is part II of our two brewery tour from our trip to the outer banks this summer. For the first part see our NC Brewery: Weeping Radish post.

The second brewery of our tour was the Outer Banks Brewing Station in Kill Devil Hills http://www.obbrewing.com/ This spot was an actual planned stop as our lunch for the day and consists of a full scale restaurant. The place was absolutely packed with a wait at 2 PM on a Saturday but there was a beer festival in the area latter that day which might have contributed to the number of folks and Saturday is peak arrival and departure for most rentals. We managed to catch a spot at the bar when a large group was seated. Once again Brad opted just to go with the stout but I opted for a mini tasting where you get a small pour of your choice of four beers. On top of the all the small tastes I had earlier in the day at Weeping Radish this was my limit so I do need to return to try the ones I missed out on this time.

Lemon Grass Wheat Ale – hefeweizen “infused with a potent smack of lemongrass, crisp, tart, and refreshing”: I had wanted to try this beer for such a long time and was not disappointed. You can really taste the lemongrass and I instantly wanted a plate of spicy Thai basil; however, it is not something I would choose to drink on its own.

Altimeter – altbier “dark amber color, some caramel, malty”: a decent amber beer but not a favorite.

Abracadabra Brown Ale – brown ale “mellow yet robust, dark in color but tastes light”: this is a very nice brown ale, highly drinkable.

Junk Shot Porter – porter “Irish style, distinctive roasted barley, assertively hopped with Cascades and Amarillo”: loved it!

Food-wise we shared their fried tuna bites which were jerk seasoned pieces of tuna deep fried – very tasty but something to be shared otherwise all that fried stuff makes you feel funny. We also shared the burger with provolone and bacon which was quite good.

NC Brewery: Weeping Radish

So along with the wine tastings we did on our outer banks vacation this year we also visited two breweries. This is our first time of officially make a note of a tasting at a brewery. There are more and more breweries popping up in NC but the vast majority at located in the western part of the state where we tend to focus more on visiting wineries. Obviously we need to travel more so we can do some of both!

The first location we just happen to see as we were looking for the winery in Jarvisburg: Weeping Radish Farm Brewery which is the oldest microbrewery in NC. http://www.weepingradish.com/ This was a really neat place to stop as it is located in an old farmer’s market barn and they have a goat pen outside (I assume as an interest for children in your party or in our case Brad since he is very fond of goats). I did the full sampler while Brad, who is familiar with their beers, went straight for the Black Radish. They brew German style lagers according to the purity law.

OBX – kolsch “golden straw color, crisp hoppy aroma, pleasantly light”: my second favorite

Corolla Gold – helles lager “golden-hued, medium-bodied, slightly sweet, malty profile”: was fine

Fest – amber lager “deep orange-red, medium body, distinctive and complex maltiness, moderate hop bitterness”: was fine

Black Radish – schwarzbier “medium bodied, dark lager with an aftertaste that tends to dry out slowly and linger, featuring hop bitterness with a complementary but subtle roastiness. Black Radish is listed as "one of the 50 beers to try before you die": was my favorite

Weizen - hefeweizen “lots of clove and cinnamon not the typical coriander”: was very interesting in a good way

Radler – half kolsch half lemonade: was very nice

And they let us taste a peach cider which they are not permitted to sale and it was nice.  We didn't have any food but the plates coming out of the kitchen looked really good.  Would definitely stop and have a beer lunch next time we are down that way.  And like Brad I would probably stick with just getting the Black Radish but then we are big dark lager/stout/porter fans.