2nd Winner Dinner

When I went home for the weekend I had dinner with my parents. We went to a Chinese restaurant near my house called P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. For our meal, we had two appetizers and an entree, which I paired each course with a wine.

My mom with Spring Rolls

For the first appetizer, we decided on spring rolls paired with 2012 Moscato from Valencia, Spain.  The wine scents of floral and peaches. The taste of the wine had fruity flavors like peaches. The spring rolls were crispy and the combination of the vegetables and the dipping sauce made the spring rolls delicious. When I paired them together was pretty good. The pulled some of the vegetables flavors, like the carrots and mushrooms, out. Plus, after paring them, I could taste apricots in the wine, which I enjoyed. This was a wine I would have enjoyed paired with or without the spring rolls. My mom enjoyed the wine as well, but my dad thought it had to many floral tastes.

Me with the Chardonnay

Vegetarian Lettuce Wrap

For the second appetizer, we decided on vegetarian lettuce wraps paired with 2010 Chardonnay from Columbia Valley, Washington. First off, my family was attempting to try something new with the wrap. The wrap was combination of tofu, lettuce, and Chinese cellophane noodles. There were flavors of peppers, onions, mushrooms, and chestnuts within the wrap. I discovered I don’t enjoy tofu at all and I didn’t like the appetizer. The Chardonnay had scents of apples and citrus fruit, specifically lemons. When I tasted the wine flavors of apples and oak emerged. The wine itself was great and I really enjoyed the wine by itself. When I paired it with the lettuce wrap, it made the lettuce wrap more enjoyable. The Chardonnay help draw out more flavors from the lettuce wrap, including a chili taste. However, that didn’t make the lettuce wrap more likeable. The lettuce wrap didn’t help to enhance the wine, if anything it made me dislike like the wine. This was a not a good combination but I like that mostly stems from the food rather than the wine. Both my parents agreed that the combination was not that great.

My dad and me with Sauvignon Blanc

For my entrée, I had sesame seed chicken which I paired with 2012 Sauvignon Blanc “Frog’s Leap from Rutherford, Napa Valley, California. Sesame seed chicken is by far my favorite meal at any Chinese place. The combination of the soy sauce sesame seeds and the drizzling of the butter made this meal great! The Sauvignon Blanc had scents of fruits and vinegar. When I tasted the wine, the vinegar was so overpowering it was the only flavor that was present. The combination of the meal with the wine was perfect! The sesame seed made the wine tangy, crisp, and the acidity on the wine was more noticeable. The wine didn’t enhance the meal in anyway. I don’t like I would drink this wine with the sesame seed chicken. My dad liked this wine the best because it was not as fruity or overpowering with floral tastes as the other two wines.



Overall, the dinner was great! The wine bottle was below