River City Grill is a restaurant located in Radford, Virginia. Every so often, they put on a wine dinner. At this particular wine dinner they had an employee from the Beliveau Estates Winery come and bring their wines, while River City Grill made the foods to pair with the wines that were brought. There was no theme on a particular regions of the world since the foods were being paired with the Winery's wines.
This restaurant is located in downtown Radford, Virginia. Inside it is a very open space where they had long tables set out for people who were going to enjoy the wine dinner. This meant that me and my roommates sat next to people we did not know. This made for a fantastic evening, since after the first few glasses of wine everyone began to open up. My roommates and I were by far the youngest group that made it out to the dinner, and the staff who worked there were thrilled to be serving to a younger generation.
The staff began the event by passing out glasses of Spanish Cava. The spanish cava was just a simple Champagne, but since it isn't from Champagne, France it can't be called that. The cava was a great way to start the evening. It was light and fruity with a yellow tint in the glass. It was very sweet and had an herb taste on the finish. The cava was served before any of the food
The Spanish Cava was followed by Beliveau'a Afternoon Delight. Winery Review: A lightly oaked, dry Vidal Blanc with overtones of grapefruit and vanilla. Serving un-chilled presents a well rounded, full palate and a lingering finish. Afternoon Delight is well suited for pairing with seasoned pork, roasted poultry, heavy seafood such as salmon or mussels, peppermint, venison, lamb, and saged sausage. This wine really pulls out any Summer herbs, especially rosemary! Chilled it is a bright yet complex and crisp, refreshing white. Afternoon Delight is great with strong cheeses chilled or unchilled. The wine costs $18.
My Review: The wine has a very floral aroma and was light on the palate. It was paired with a spinach salad with strawberries and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Without the food the wine has a rubbery finish; however, paired with the salad there was a tart taste to the wine. The raspberry vinaigrette dressing brought out the fruity flavors of the wine. It was a dry wine, but when paired with the salad it did not taste like a dry wine. This wine has a 12.5% alcohol percentage, but it went down smooth. Very good pairing to begin with.
Course number two began with a white wine called Reflection. This wine was paired with a seafood lasagna that contained shrimp and crab with an Alfredo sauce.
Winery Review: This wine is 100% Traminette. Unlike our 2011 vintage, this wine did not go through a sur lies ferment so we have a dry yet fruity wine that is more similar to an eastern European Gewurtz. Reflection pairs very well with Thai and other Asian cuisine as well as fall baking spices. Has an alcohol percentage of 12.7 and costs $17.
My Review: On the nose this wine smelt extremely floral with a rose petal aroma. In the wine glass the wine appeared clear in color. On the palate it had a sweeter taste than the Afternoon Delight that came before. Had a distinct taste of leche fruit. The wine itself was not my favorite, but with the seafood lasagna I found that it brought out a nutty flavor to the wine. There was a spiciness to the finish of the wine with the lasagna. The meal was delicious, but I preferred the Afternoon Delight to this Traminette.
Course number 3 began with a red wine called Warm Glow. This wine was paired with chicken and bacon wrapped in a crescent pastry covered with a hollandaise sauce. Winery Review: What a generous wine this is! Like our first Warm Glow, this semi-sweet Chambourcin is rich in aromas with many red and black fruit flavors. However, this year's version is a little darker, smoldering with cherry-vanilla pipe tobacco and smoke then giving way to warm fruit preserves and just a touch of chocolate. This wine will make you think it has been oaked in old whiskey barrels, but it hasn't been oaked for even a single second! This is 12.5% alcohol and costs $20.
My Review: In the wine glass, this wine was a dark red color. The smell was very sweet and acidic with a prominent cherry smell. This wine is definitely my favorite so far. Without a bite of food it tastes of cherries and strawberries. For a red wine it is pretty light to medium on the palate. This sweet red paired with the spicy chicken and bacon exceptionally. The hollandaise sauce really brought out the flavors of the light-bodied sweet red wine. The meal itself was pretty heavy, so pairing it with a lighter red was perfect. On the finish this wine had an oaky flavor.
Course number 4 was a Cabernet Sauvignon called Silhouette that was paired with muscles.
Winery Review: A wonderful fruit-forward wine carrying fragrant aromas with hints of caramel, coffee, and smoke. This wine has a nice crispness to it and the oak characters carry over into the palate. It pairs beautifully with light meats such as chicken teriyaki or a gently seasoned pork loin. Strong enough to hold it's own, but delicate enough to not overpower your meal. Silhouette is also wonderful all by itself! This wine is 12% alcohol and costs $12.
My Review: In the wine glass this was a very dark red wine. It has a very prominent oaky/woody smell to it. On the palate, it is definitely the driest wine of the night. It is medium bodied, but doesn't leave the mouth as dry as some other Cabernet Sauvignon's I've had in the past. With the muscles this wine had a very long finish with some nice earthy/mineral flavors. It was a nice pairing and did not overwhelm my palate.
Course number 5 was a Red Zinfandel called Portal that was paired with a crusted pork tenderloin with yams.
Winery Review: A Zinfandel with body! Portal is a bigger, bolder, more heavily-oaked Zinfandel than our first two. Notes of dark red berries, vanilla, tobacco, leather, and spice can be found in the aromatics while flavors of cracked pepper, licorice, minerality, red fruit, and clove linger and develop on the palate. It pairs best with beef, zesty red sauces, blue cheese, mushrooms, tuna steak, and lamb. A Bronze medalist! This wine is 15% alcohol and costs $24.
My Review: This red wine has a sweet maple tree smell to it. On the palate this was a lighter red wine and much sweeter than the Cabernet Sauvignon, but not as sweet as many White Zinfandel's I've had. It had some woody, Blackberry flavors. With the spicy pork, the wine took on a more spicy wood taste. The yams worked well with the spicy pork to bring out some of the sweetness of the wine. The finish was hot and short. The high alcohol percentage was not perfectly masked.
This is a picture of my roommates and I at River City Grill (I am on the right side).
Overall, this wine dinner was an incredible experience. Not only did I get to try some great food and wine pairings, but I also met some very astute wine drinkers. C.J. was the name of one of the men and he informed me the importance of the legs in the wine glass. He was also a huge fan of Cabernet Sauvignon's which are not my favorite because of the dryness of the wine. Maybe in a couple of years that will be my wine of choice. The food and wine were both fantastic and it was quite an adventure. I would definitely enjoy doing another wine dinner again. The only problem was the expense. The wine dinner as a whole was 40 dollars, but they served full glasses of wine. Leaving the dinner my roommates and I were definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol. I would recommend this wine dinner to anyone willing to put in the money for the experience. I definitely learned some things about what foods to pair with certain wines.
