Wine Dinner - Olive Garden (Tuscany)

This weekend was a super busy weekend. On Friday night, my parents came to town for my LAST EVER Soulstice A Cappella Concert. Super sweet of them. My sister and I met them at Olive Garden for dinner and decided to make it a “Wine Dinner”. We set our sights on getting three different glasses of wine from the Tuscany, Italy region with 3 different courses: Appetizer, Entrée and Dessert. Each of us got our own Entrées but shared the appetizer and dessert.

Mom and Dad are in town!!

Wine #1: Straccali Chianti

Calamari and Stuffed Mushrooms

For the appetizer, we decided on the Fried Calamari with Cheese stuffed Mushrooms paired with a 2012 Giulio Straccali Chianti from Tuscany. The wine on its own was lovely. This medium bodied ruby red wine was delicious with a serious cherry profile. I tasted some lemon-y flavors and oregano flavors that we thought would complement the appetizer. The food was delicious. I mean, who doesn’t love buttery, crispy, cheesy, herby, fatty food? The buttery-ness and earthiness of the mushrooms brought out the herby tones in the wine. The oregano became a deeper flavor, branching into some sage and thyme. The calamari added a bit of peppery bite to the wine. The wine opened up and the fruit-y tastes in the wine were a little less prominent. The herby contents really came out and only added to the experience of the appetizer. I really enjoyed this pairing of appetizer and wine.

Wine #2: Sangiovese-Syrah

Chicken and Shrimp
Carbonara

My main course was a Chicken and Shrimp Carbonara paired with a 2011 Rocca delle Macie Sasyr Sangiovese-Syrah from Tuscany. The wine was full-bodied and peppery. I think that’s what I liked most about it. On the nose, this wine had an interesting banana and cherry smoothie profile (sort of similar to the Beaujolais I wrote about a few weeks about here). This wine is smooth on its own and featured heavy notes of black cherries, pepper and plums. The Carbonara was heaven. I found it delicious, creamy, fatty, salty, buttery and SUPER RICH—as if it needed something to cut the richness. The wine paired with the food was divine. The pepper from the wine really added seasoning to the dish, as it was lacking pepper to support the salt. In return, however, the creaminess  of the Carbonara contributed smoothness to the wine. The wine became sweeter and fruitier as well (almost Sangria-like). The food helped the wine expressed the fruits more fully. The wine finished long with the dish and slightest hint of acid from the wine cut straight through the cream of the Carbonara and forged a wonderful pairing.

Tiramisu

Wine #3: Moonlite Tuscan
Blend

We ordered the Italian obligatory TIRAMISU for dessert and paired it with a 2011 Rocca delle Macie Toscana Moonlite White blend wine from Tuscany (duh).  The wine was light, and almost had no detectable alcohol flavor which speaks of the well-integradedness of the alcohol. This wine smelled like peach candy and grapefruit gummies, but tasted like apple juice, vanilla and rocks.  I found it very drinkable and creamy . I liked it on its own. The tiramisu was light, creamy and fluffy. I definitely appreciated the cocoa powder topping and the pudding-like texture. It tasted great too! Together, the creaminess of the wine became a little more highlighted and texture was a little smoother. The wine became sweeter with the tiramisu and the vanilla flavor in the wine echoed the creamy vanilla flavors in the tiramisu.

Mom, Dad, Amanda (sister) and Me!

Overall, I think Italian (even Americanized Italian) food is MEANT to be consumed with wine. I loved having my parents in town and I’m excited to try more pairings with Italian wines!