Dinner - Palisades (New Zealand)

Every Wednesday this semester, The Palisades Restaurant in Eggleston, Virginia has hosted a Wines Around the World event. This is where they offer three wine tastings from a particular country of the world that paired with three food items of cuisine from the same country. This week's event was New Zealand. I was very excited to try something brand new since I've never once been to a place that offered a New Zealand style cuisine. I also ended had the good luck to convince my boyfriend to accompany me which tuned out to be a lot of fun because I tried to teach him to recognize the different smells between each wine tasted.

Walking up to the front of the restaurant.

 Here is a picture I took as we walked up to the restuarant. Since Eggleston is located in Giles County, VA I knew getting here would be a small adventure. Sure enough, making a left off of a very twisty, winding road off of 460 West, we arrived at this small town that seemed frozen in time. And the time just happened to be maybe 60 years ago. The restaurant had a very homey feel with plenty of trinkets lining the walls. As we were seated, our server presented me with the menu for the night's theme.

The dishes to be paired with the wines.

The wines to be paired with these dishes were: The Crater Rim Riesling, Sea Pearl Sauvignon Blanc, and Ponga Pinot Noir.

The wines to be tasted as described above, from left to right.

 As you can see below, the dishes included a Kiwi Salad, a Trout Fritter, and a Kumara Duet. The Kiwi Salad was described as having mixed greens, red peppers, granny smith apples, raosted nuts with oil and vinegar dressing. The Trout Fritter was a simple egg white omelette with baked trout. The Kumara Duet was a purple kumara chip topped with whipped kumara and smoked pecans. But get ready because I found out that Kumara is actually a sweet potato!

The evening's food dishes, as described above clockwise starting with the salad.

Of course, I couldn't help but take a picture of my boyfriend and his food either! He ordered a chicken entree with sweet potatoes - which also looked delicious. Now to start with the eating and tastings!

Josh with his meal!

Name: The Crater Riesling Canterbury

Variety: Riesling
Region: Waipara Valley
Country: New Zealand
Year: 2012
Price: $13.00

Alone: The color of this wine was a very light yellow. It had a bouquet full of apples. I was also getting what reminded me of the dirt smell and taste that you get with celery. I also was getting hints of a petrol scent. On the palate, I thought the wine was slightly dry, but had a light body. At the start, there was a crisp start with a strong celery taste coming through on the mid-palate. The finish lasted about a minute.

With Kiwi Salad: In tasting this with the salad, I felt that the acidity was extremely heightened and cut through immediately. I was tasting much less celery and I felt that the petrol aroma was overpowering my palate.

With Trout Fritter: Trying this wine with the fritter actually did the opposite of what happened with the salad. I think the oils from the fritter really cut through the acid because this wine seemed extremely less acidic - I was able to hardly notice it. I also thought that with the fritter, the celery and kind of dirt flavor came to the forefront on the palate. The wine tasted much more earthy.

With Kumara Duet: With the Kumara (aka Sweet potato), again the acid just kind of melted away and I hardly even noticed the bite that had been there when I tasted the wine alone and with the salad. However, I think the sweetness of the Kumara definitely covered up the earthiness of this wine and brought out more of the petrol taste and smell that I had gotten earlier. 

Name:  Sea Pearl Sauvignon Blanc

Variety: Sauvignon Blanc

Region: Marlborough
Country: New Zealand
Year: 2014
Price: $12.00

Alone: This wine was almost clear in color. It had pinapple and citrus flavors on the nose. I also thought there was grapefruit. At the start of the taste, the wine was very crisp, clean, and refreshing. On the mid-palate, the acid just breaks through and stays through the finish. On the finish, I thought it tasted like fresh grass.

With Kiwi Salad: With the salad, I thought there was much less acid on the wine. It also tasted more dry and I could definitely taste grapefruit. The heat of the alcohol also came through on the mid-palate which I had not noticed when I tried this by itself.

With Trout Fritter: Having this with the fritter gave the wine about the same acidity as when I had it by itself. The tropical bouquet and flavors stood out much more, which I think was attributed to the creamy filling of the fritter and subtle flavors of the trout.

With Kumara Duet: When trying this with the Kumara, because of the sweetness in the dish, I felt the acidity of the wine stood out so much more! It was like a shock to the palate. I felt that acidity of the wine was actually clashing with the sweetness of the Kumara. The bitterness of the wine was relatively high in comparison with the sweetness of the dish and the citrus notes that were once apparent in the wine had disappeared.

Name: Ponga. Pinot Noir

Variety: Pinot Noir
Region: Marlborough
Country: New Zealand
Year: 2013
Price: $14.00

Alone: This wine was a deep red. Black cherry and raspberries were on the bouquet. I thought it had a medium body and mouthfeel. I also thought there were medium tannins since it did leave a slight velvety feel on the palate - but not too overpowering. There were hints of black pepper and a quick finish.

With Kiwi Salad: In trying this with the Kiwi Salad, there was nothing more for me to say than the wine was made incredibly bitter! It was difficult to get any other flavors because the tannins which had come through on the mid-palate when the wine was by itself, came through right away and I felt they really overpowered my palate.

With Trout Fritter: With the fritter, again I think the fats came through to save the day. The bitterness had melted away to the background and the wine itself had a much lighter mouthfeel. The velvet feel that I got with the wine by itself had dissipated and I tasted a touch more pepper.

With Kumara Duet: Finally, to the Kumara. I thought this dish really brought out the cherry flavors. There was the same light mouthfeel and I though the sweetness of the Kumara complimented the wine very well - this was my favorite pairing of the night!