Wine Dinner #1 - Blacksburg Wine Lab

 Wine Dinner #1 - Blacksburg Wine Lab

This past Sunday night, I had a team building retreat with my coworkers at 310 Rosemont. We started off with hot yoga and ended the night with a dinner at Blacksburg Wine Lab. This was the perfect opportunity for me to taste some wines without having to buy multiple bottles and eat a lot of good food!

To start off, I ordered the Wine and Cheese flight. I was really excited to try each wine and cheese pairing especially because it was chosen by the restaurant. Since all three wines come at once, I decided to save a little of each to be able try all of my wines with all the food I got. I tried each wine with the cheese they were paired with, as well as each wine with my main meal and dessert. 

The first pairing I tried was the Zardetto Prosecco NV with Gru spreadable gouda. On it's own, the Prosecco was just how I like it, crisp and refreshing with notes of pear. The cheese was incredibly soft and added an earthy and smoky flavor which complimented the light and bubbly prosecco perfectly.

The next pairing was the Stemmari Nero d'Avola with manchego. The Nero d'Avola is a 2019 vintage and is an intense, rich wine with a velvety feel and flavors of currant. The savoriness of the manchego cheese created an amazing plummy taste paired with the wine. The sweet and savory flavors swirled together like a match made in heaven!

The last wine and cheese pairing was the Ravel & Stitch Cabernet Sauvignon with cheddar. The Cab Sauv was slightly tart and had notes of dark cherry with the perfect tannin level to balance everything out. Adding the sharp, creamy cheddar added a nice bite and allowed for more jammy notes to come out in the wine.

As my main course, I opted for the roasted sweet potato salad. Atop a bed of arugula was cubed and roasted sweet potato, rum spiced orange slices and gingered pine nuts, drizzled with honey chili vinaigrette. I tasted all three wines with the salad and my personal favorite pairing was the Nero d'Avola. I love a good spicy arugula bite with an intense red wine because it packs a double punch, yet not in an overwhelming way. The sweet potato and orange brought out almost an herbal flavor in the wine as well.

I also tasted my friend's turkey banh mi sandwich and it was incredibly light and refreshing, so I paired it with the Prosecco and created magic. It was probably my favorite pairing of the night and it wasn't even my dish! 

For my dessert, I got the rich and indulgent chocolate chunk warm cookie with vanilla ice cream. My favorite wine paired with this was the cab sauv, because its medium level of dryness made my mouth water and it created new flavors with the dessert. Then the sweetness of the dessert made me crave a sip of the wine and vice versa!

Lastly, I had to try the blue wine out of curiosity. I've heard it tastes like a jolly rancher, but I think it looks more like one than tastes like it. I did get a little hint of it, but I also tasted strong notes of peach and cucumber. It was a little too sweet for my liking, but I really enjoyed it to end my meal!

Overall, I had such a great experience testing my palate and enjoying a relaxing night off and I'll definitely be taking this knowledge with me when it comes to choosing future wines!